With their power, they created the lesser deities (greater and lesser gods); beings with less power and broader ranges than their creators. These lesser beings were the minions and pawns of the Elementals. This takes much stress off the known world for if the Elementals war or even have some minor dispute, their powers could destroy whole regions of time and space.
The lesser beings were each given specific areas within which they rule although some have strayed from truly neutral towards good and evil.
The Elementals do not demand worship. It is the nature of man to worship the divine. The lesser deities show no such inattention to praise. They seem, almost, to gain power from it.
Elementals will, at times, offer advice, help, or boons, but only in rare cases. At these times, clerics or worshippers act through the lesser deities related to the specific elemental.