What effect do you believe prayer has?

If you hold the position that “prayer doesn’t change God, prayer changes me,” then aren’t you basically saying that a practice which is purported to be communication with the One True God is effectively the same as any other form of meditation?

But if you hold the position that praying for something can actually change the outcome of real events from what they otherwise would’ve been, then how can God have a perfect plan for the world when his plan can be easily uprooted any time somebody prays?