Asalaam aleykum
One day a Sufi saint Ibrahim Adham was passing through the bazaar in the city of Basra when he was surrounded by people who said to him: "O Ibrahim! Allah (SWT) has stated in the Noble Qur'an that: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)"; we call upon Allah (SWT) but our prayer is not answered.
Ibrahim Adham said: "The reason is because your hearts have died due to ten things so that your supplications have no sincerity as your hearts are not pure and free of contamination."
They asked: "What are those ten issues?" Ibrahim Adham replied:
01: First and foremost you have accepted Allah (SWT) but have not repaid His claim.
02: You have recited the Noble Qur'an but have not practiced it.
03: You profess your love of the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw), but are opposed to his Household (as).
04: You claim to have enmity with Shaitan (Satan) but in practice you are in agreement with him.
05: You say that you are fond of heaven but in order to enter heaven you have not done anything.
06: You said that you were afraid of the Hell Fire, but have thrown your bodies in to it.
07: You were busy slandering and criticizing people but were ignorant of your own shortcomings and faults.
08: You said that you didn't like the world but are greedily following it.
09: You confess to the reality of death but don't prepare yourself for it.
10: You have buried the dead but haven't taken a lesson or guidance from it.
These are the 10 practices (Ten Reasons) which cause prayers to remain unanswered.
wcs
