" The gods do not grant miracles for our purposes, but for theirs, Umegat had said. Yes? It seemed to Cazaril that this bargain ought to run two ways. If people stopped lending the gods their wills by which to do miracles, eh, what would the gods do about it then? "

― Lois McMaster Bujold , The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1)