What are the conditions for a prayer to be answered?

For a supplication (dua) to be accepted, there are three fundamental conditions: 1. Supplicating to Allah alone by His Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes with sincerity and devotion, because supplication is an act of worship. 2. That one does not supplicate for a sin or for the severance of kinship ties. 3. To supplicate with an attentive heart, certain of the response.

And there are reasons for the acceptance of supplication that should be observed: 1. Beginning the supplication by praising and glorifying Allah, and by sending prayers and salutations upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and concluding it likewise. 2. Raising the hands. 3. No hesitation, but rather determination and persistence. 4. Seeking out times of acceptance, such as the last third of the night, between the adhan and the iqama, and at the time of breaking the fast. 5. Consuming lawful things and avoiding prohibited ones.