Short prayer is good before competition (5)
I believe the answer is:
grace
'short prayer' is the definition.
'grace' can be an answer for 'prayer' (grace is a kind of prayer). I am unsure of the 'short' bit.
'good before competition' is the wordplay.
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'competition' becomes 'race' (race is a kind of competition).
'g'+'race'='GRACE'
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for grace that I've seen before include "Honour" , "See 18" , "melodic decoration" , "cricketing great" , "Mealtime prayer" .)