Heathen! ;-) Of course praying will help... It does for me. For example, right before trying something critical like a FLASH bios, I say a little prayer. Then afterwards, if the system refuses to come on at all, I think that Almighty might still be listening, so I shorten my top of my lungs screaming obscentity laced tirade from 15 minutes to about one minute. See?!?!?!?!
But oh yea, don't forget about the UPS!