Catholic friends tell me it means being careful what you wish for. G-d punishes the presumptious by giving them what they desire so they find it worse than what their lot was before. In short, shut up and deal with your reality and not wish for some miraculous transformative experience. All life experiences here in a fallen world are in some way corrupt and you as a mere mortal have no way of knowing what desired changes would really do. Profoundly Catholic conservative attitude.Shut up, go to Mass, obey, and hope in the future beyond the grave.
I think your Catholic friends need to study up. They don’t sound like they get it at all to me. The attitude you’re saying they suggest is why bother praying? Plus, I also think prayer is not a monologue from us to God. It’s a dialogue. We are supposed to listen to Him as well as ask. He wants us to ask. He’s not some charm or amulet.
I don’t think St. Teresa of Avila means for us to shut up or stop praying. I can’t imagine her being called a Doctor of the Church if that’s what she was getting at. She wants us to enhance our spiritual life, not cut it off. In fact, that sounds like something that might please Satan.