How then shall we serve? Psalm 123:2 points the way.
"Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he have mercy upon us."
The way to serve God so that he gets the glory is to look to him for mercy. Prayer prevents service from being an expression of pride. Any servant who tries to get off the divine dole and strike up a manly
partnership with his Heavenly Master is in revolt against the Creator. God does not barter. He gives the mercy of life to servants who will have it, and the wages of death to those who won't. Good service is always and fundamentally receiving mercy, not rendering assistance. So there is no good service without prayer.