Oh, you don't offend me at all. I know religion can be a touchy subject, but I made a promise & I will fullfill and because I believe it can help others. Ok, so God hears all of our prayers, but does not always answer them in the way WE want, but the way HE wants. And, if you look at another of my posts, about the previous guy and I was so heartbroken? Well I thank God that guy dumped me, because I ended up with someone so much better for me, but I didn't see it at the time. I am so glad i didn't wind up with that guy.
Anyway, about the St. Terese' prayer, it is said that she takes your request to God Himself - presents roses to him, and he either says yes or no, so if you receive roses, you know your prayer has been answered - and you will get what you prayed for. I've used this prayer many times, for many years, ever since I first learned of it. In fact, I even chose her as my confirmation name because she's come thru for me so many times. sometimes I got confirmation, sometimes I did not. Sometimes when I got confirmation, I STILL didn';t believe I would get what I asked, but i did! And yes, of course there have been things I asked for that I did not get, did not get a rose. i.e. aforementioned previous boyfriend. So, though we may never always get what we 'think' we want, we will get an answer. Its better than asking the psychics, I believe.
There is another prayer called the Mother Theresa Emergency Novena (a Novena is to be said 9days, but this one is said 9 times in a row) It is called the Memorare Prayer. It is named after Mother Theresa of Calcutta, she used it often. I have not used it yet. But i do believe strongly in prayer.
And yes, you SHOULD pray for yourself. Its always good to pray for loved ones, but you need to pray for yourself as well.