Passing the Buck through Prayer

The recent Dail vote to require members to stand for the daily prayer has got me to thinking again about, well,  praying. I’ve often wondered if a strong belief in God and the power of prayer conveys a certain level of immunity from being responsible for ones’ actions. I’d often heard, and still do from time to time, that so and so is praying for this or that, or that such and such will happen, ‘God willing’. But does that belief in some way remove a little responsibility from someone to act in the here and now? 

If something doesn’t happen, then surely it was God’s will, and who are we to challenge it? If it does happen, then it too was God’s will, and isn’t he wise in his ways? 

It always felt to me like the person saying it was adding an unsaid statement that they were taking no action, God would provide. That’s just my interpretation, but the idea of deferring to some greater unaccountable authority grates on me.