"Hmm, I am trying to think of good recent examples. Mostly it is for major endeavours - purchasing land to build a new temple, for example, or starting a new school, or sending a missionary order to a new country. ...Every so often in our history, it is recorded that the priests would start praying for much more minor and routine things, like a good harvest, and once in a while the Eternal Flame will send a vision to remind us that Their power cannot stretch to cover everything, and must be husbanded for when it is most needed." 

"What limits them?"

"Some sort of resources, I suppose? Not - food or water or land, not any of the things that limit us in this plane, but - something in some way analogous..." 

"Like magic reserves or not like that either?"

"Maybe like that! I am no expert on Gifts or mage-craft, but it seems plausible." 

"But we recharge that through water and food - and sleep - or use ley lines or nodes, which get their power from living things - what about gods?"

"Huh! What a question! Perhaps our ancient texts have something to say about it - myself, I do not think I ever thought to be curious about what gods find equivalent to food or rest." 

"Maybe they're also getting their power from living things and are basically nodes-that-are-people or something."

"Hmm." The priest does not seem to have any idea how to react to this concept. "Perhaps. I do not think it will ever be something that is in our scope, as mortals, to know." 

"When the Eternal Flame reminds you guys of things what does that look like?"

"Usually it comes in the form of visions. Which are cryptic, but - not actually hard to decipher, given all of the context that we have. Occasionally in our history, the reminder has come in the form of egregious bad luck on a particular venture that the Eternal Flame wished to remind us was unimportant." 

"Can you give examples?"

"The classic example that they give to all apprentices is the time that a priest decided to pray that prices at the market would be high for the herbs the temple was growing that year. I am sure there is at least one other case but I would have to look it up." 

"Will that also be in the books I'm borrowing?"

"Oh, yes, I expect so!" 

"Why would the Eternal Flame punish superfluous prayers instead of just ignoring them, does hearing them at all cost them something?"

"I think the idea is that, well, the entire point of prayer is to provide Them with information about our needs and circumstances as mortals, which is more difficult and costly for Them to seek out from a god's angle. And so, yes, superfluous prayers would cost Them something, if it forces Them to put resources into judging whether the prayer is in fact worth responding to." 

"How does praying work, anyway, what do you do that makes it so your god can see what you're saying - presumably other gods can't, right, and it has to be distinguished somehow from what you normally think or say if it's bad for there to be superfluous stuff -"

"Oh, right, that is worth some clarification! There are many kinds of ordinary prayer that do not unduly attract Their attention; our worshippers, and even priests, are encouraged to pray to Them for comfort and guidance, though those prayers are rarely answered. If a prayer is very important, there is a special ritual to perform first; that part, I am afraid is a closely kept secret, only taught to our priests after their apprenticeship is over." 

"That makes sense, if it'd lead to people bothering them. But they can hear normal prayers, right, how do they do that?"

"I am not sure! Perhaps by something a little like human Thoughtsensing, except from a god's perspective." 

"But how do they tell prayers apart from random thoughts? And do people with shields have to take them down to pray?"

"Prayers have to be - addressed to Them? And to a clear enough idea of Them, that They can recognize - so perhaps it is more like receiving Mindspeech than like reading someone's thoughts directly." 

"If they need help to see what's going on, and prayers have to be addressed to a clear idea of them, do they know what's happening where they aren't worshipped at all?"

"I think much less so! They do have other senses, including Foresight, but - I think They do see much more blurrily in places where They have no followers. ...The theory is that this is true of all gods, and perhaps part of why They appear to have territories."