Preys pray?

Zeus

I have a friend who was devastated when his only son was afflicted with a scary form of cancer. He was aggressive in offering whatever humanly possible to nip the disease to the root of things. He has thus far successfully dodged his son's disease. At time of the initial denial phase, my friend made a vow at the spur of the moment that he who stop doing his divine duties indefinitely if his son did not escape the grab of the dreaded crab. So far, 2 years on, the Gods have not lost a devotee!
Then back to the present time, a plane goes missing. What are we told to do? To pray and invoke intervention of the unknown as the experts do not know what else to do!
How is prayers going to change the fate of things that had been predetermined through the synchronised chaos of the butterfly effects? Whatever has happened to the ill-fated vessel had already happened. Our interventions or coaxing of the Forces is not going to undo what had already happened.
What prayers could invoke is that we, the mortals, the comfort that we are actually trying to do something when all other earthly avenues are exhausted. It shifts the blame from a human side towards the unknown. In the end, everyone would just accept whatever the outcome is and take things as it is and reassure themselves that everything happens for the best.
What matters to us most in 10 hours may not mean too much at 10-days interval and possibly laughable 10 year later.
When caught in a corner and the situation is hopeless, a miracle may not happen but people will accept and move on.
If an outcome of the situation we are praying for is not a desirous one, does that mean that we have not prayed hard enough or it is that we had invoked the wrath of the Gods or do we it just accept that  everything happens for the best?  Is our prayer going to alter the path of the universe or adjust the orbits of the stars? Probably not. Then it would create another mammoth catastrophe which is bigger than life itself. There would not be anyone there to pray anymore or to pray for, would they?