In Psalm 71 (and in various other places), the biblical writer pleads with the Lord that he, the worshipper of God, not be put to shame. One of the faults we have in prayer is that we do not imitate this enough.
We have drifted into what we think is a principled complacency—whatever God decrees is what we should want. That’s the way we have arranged it in the theological part of our brains. We of course still want whatever it is we want, but we do that in another, unsanctified part of our brain. In other words, because we will not take up our case in the presence of God, and because we will not pray, asking God to keep us from looking bad, we do not pray biblically.
Part of the problem here is Bible talk. “Let me not be put to shame” sounds really spiritual, just so long as we don’t reflect on what it means. “God, don’t let me look bad” sounds very, very unspiritual, and so we never say it to Him. We still feel that way, so we are off to the side, trying to make our own arrangements for not looking bad. Unfortunately, they never turn out that well.
God wants to hear from us directly. When we present our case to God, it becomes obvious in the prayer whether or not we should be put to shame. The prayer in that case changes us, and by that change, changes our circumstances. But there are times when this prayer is an honest one, and God hears and replies. God changes our circumstances, and by doing so, delivers and changes us.