Can we change the hands of fate?

First and foremost, I am not an ardent believer of “its fate and there is nothing we can do about it” but recently some things have happened that have made me realize that to a large extent we determine what really happens.
I introduced a friend of mine to an acquaintance because I felt they were well suited for each other and I pioneered the entire introduction and hook up. Barely six months later, they have concluded plans to walk down the aisle as husband and wife. Was it fate? Was I supposed to introduce them, truth be told, I almost didn’t introduce them, I used to just fool around and tease her that I know this really cool guy and I felt they would fit. But I almost didn’t introduce them because we all know how busy everyone tends to be, I kept on forgetting and procrastinating and I have never been much of a match maker. But when I finally did, they hit it off so perfectly and I am glad that I did.
But what if I hadn’t introduced them, would they have eventually gotten married or gone off and married other people? Was it fate or was it a case of we moved fate in our favor?
Were we actually meant to marry the people we end up with, live in the country that we live in, do the jobs that we currently do? Was it a predestined move or we unconsciously change somethings in our favor or against us?
I watched this film once about a young man who loved his girlfriend but somehow managed to still take her for granted and she died, he almost went berserk and the next morning, he woke up and found out that she was alive and he was re-living the entire experience again. He tried to change the hands of fate but nothing could change until the hour that she was supposed to die; he stood in her place and died instead.
Made me wonder, can we actually change the fate of things? Do we sometimes do things that make the hand of fate move against or in our favor?
I am a believer and the question has puzzled me for a while, while we pray that God should intervene on a lot of things concerning us, has He actually left these things in our hands for us to design and pioneer and move in our favor. It’s a very tough question and a very tough answer. Sometimes do we become so religious that we just sit down on our behinds and think, “well, I have prayed that I will get married this year or get a job or I have prayed that my manager will like me, or I prayed that so so and so will promote me” and we live everything to fate or do we actually get up and change our own fate, redesign our destinies and get what we want.
Sometimes we need to get up and fight, fight very hard, change the hand of fate… move things in our favor and be aggressive about it while we do that. By aggression, I don’t mean, barking up anything that comes in your way or running like headless chickens in a bid to do things but instead lets change the course of destiny in the only way we know how to… seek the face of our creator and listen to his voice very intently… lets take the horse by its rein and with the backing of His word.. lets move in to change our destiny… this time for good.