You ever try and watch over all of humanity alone? It's much easier with a couple of pals.
Jonathan Sanders
I see what you did there, user.
Brandon Baker
What makes a god a god rather than just a very powerful being? Are there distinctions among gods between "true" gods and "lesser" gods? How real are these categories, how fluid? What powers a god? What does a god desire?
William Rodriguez
The distinction I have is "Powered by prayer/belief? ur a god lmao".
So a God is stronger or weaker depending on the number of worshipers they have (In addition to whatever power they might have had before ascending, if a setting where that's a theme), but there is some creatures are able to curb-stomp them anyways (Ie- Great Old Ones) that aren't actually gods- prayer from their cultists does nothing for a Great Old One itself, rather it's more of a tool of control from the cult leader. (In fact, the Old One may not even be aware the Cult exists)
S-source? Asking for a friend. That friend is my boner
Michael Gonzalez
A god is any being which has a divine spark. A divine spark is a mote of pure power which grants dominion over aspects of reality. A lesser god is merely a god which has fewer divine sparks or less powerful ones. Many divine sparks are intrinsically tied into a god's nature and their being. The oldest gods are personifications of natural aspects, at least from the point of view of mortals. The truth is backwards to this, nature reflects these gods and their alliances, friendships, rivalries, and hatreds.
Any being can be worshipped, and many powerful beings grant prayers, but it takes the possession of a Divine Spark to be a god.
Many beings seek these Divine Sparks, whether by trickery or violence, because to have such a spark is to have true power. An example of such is the Demon Lord Lamashtu's ascent to godhood after ripping the divine spark from a god of the hunt she was killing, granting her dominion over beasts. She is both a Demon Lord and a God, now much harder to kill and with far greater power than any Demon Lord could ever attain.
As to what a God desires? It depends on the god, their personality, and what they rule over.
The matter of worship is contentious, but the truth is that no god needs prayer to sustain their power. To believe such is hubris and ego. Instead most gods welcome prayer as a form of thanks for doing their role as arbiter of a section of reality, and to keep abreast of the goings on of such among mortals. Of course evil gods demand prayer because they are simply egotistical or narcissists.