My pastor was fond of saying - Prayer is not a lever to force God to do your bidding. I guess some people dont understand that concept.
Very wise pastor.
Your pastor was wise.
It can be confusing to Non-Christians.
On one side of the road are the pastors who seemingly turn any/all prayers into “...trying to use a lever to force God to do X’s biding,” and on the other side of the road is the pastors who remind people that, “they can go to God with requests with belief.”
At some point there is even the parable about the person going to the neighbor’s door 3 times and we are admonished that sometimes it takes multiple requests.
The Governor asking for the Lord God to spare Florida the presence of Hurricane Dorian is him doing his job as a Christian leader. The Governor understands and accepts that offering up a prayer for his state’s safety is not a command to the Lord God.
He’s not an idiot.