Du'a - The weapon of the believer

A famous ascetic and worshipper, Ibrahim Ibn Adham was once asked, "Why is it that we make du'a, yet they are not responded to?" He replied: "Because you know Allah, yet you do not obey Him. And you know the prophet (pbuh), but do not follow his sunnah. And you know the Qur'aan, but you do not act upon it. And you eat from the blessings of Allah, but you do not express gratitude for it. And you know paradise, yet do not strive for it. And you know the Fire of Hell, yet you do not run away from it. And you know the shaytaan, but you do not fight him, and instead obey him. And you know death, but you do not prepare yourselves for it. And you bury the dead, but you do not learn a lesson from it. And you have left your own faults, and instead busy yourself with the faults of others."