But it doesn't always work

Muršili’s plague prayers attest to Hittite beliefs that the gods need not respond positively to every ritual. These prayers recount the king’s fruitless efforts to appease the gods who had brought years of plague to his country, including his multiple acts of compensation and other deeds in accord with oracular instructions. The tone is one of protest but reveals no skepticism. Rather, the king’s prayers indicate his continued efforts to end the plague by appealing to the gods.—Forestalling Doom page 144