About 150 Muslims knelt in diagonal lines Friday afternoon and aimed a spiritual torrent at Southern California's fires.

They prayed for God not to test people so harshly. They prayed for victims. They prayed for relief.

And outside, a mist was about to turn to rain.

Call it coincidence. Call it a low-pressure system that had been forecast for several days. The people praying in a Ramadan service at the Islamic Center of Conejo Valley in Newbury Park weren't taking credit. They were just requesting help.

"People's only control is in asking," said Salar Rizvi, a Pakistani-American from Alhambra.

Muslims throughout the state were asked Friday to pray for rain and for victims of the fires. The Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked people of other faiths to join in and direct their collective spiritual energy at the fires and charred remains.

In a service this morning, Rabbi Nosson Gurary of the Chabad of Simi Valley planned to pray for the safety of firefighters as well as the mental and physical well-being of victims. But he won't get as specific as asking God to control the wind or the rain.

"Generally in Judaism, we don't give God advice," he said. "We pray that he'll take care of things and he'll find a way to do it."

Monsignor Joseph Cosgrove of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Moorpark doesn't have any problem asking God for weather conditions that will help firefighters and limit loss. Parishioners have been praying about the disaster at Mass all week.

It's not magic and doesn't bring guarantees, Cosgrove said.

"It gives people comfort," he said. "They know people are praying for them."

At Calvary Chapel of Simi Valley on Wednesday night, people prayed for the fires to be extinguished and for comfort for those affected in one way or another. They'll likely do the same Sunday morning.

The fires ignite theological arguments, with some suggesting that a divine power is testing or even punishing humanity.

"My belief is more that God is sovereign," said the Rev. Bob Fitzgerald, an associate pastor at Simi's Calvary Chapel. "God doesn't cause these things, but in his sovereignty allows them."

Good will come from it, though it may not be visible for years or ever, Fitzgerald said.

A week ago, a Sunday service that usually attracts 200 people to the Simi Valley Religious Science Center for Positive Living brought only about 45. The rest were hosing down roofs and otherwise protecting their homes.

This week, gratitude journals will be handed out to the congregation on a day labeled Count Our Blessings Sunday. People will be asked to find three things in their lives worthy of thanks.

The Rev. Dennis Merritt Jones said he believes the fires have brought pain and tragedy. But the flames also carry lessons.

"People will live in a greater realization of what's important. It's not a house. It's relationships. It's family and friends," he said. "It's not so much what happens to us in life as much as how we respond to it."