We make dua for many things.

We ask Allah for a better job, a better marriage, more money, good health, successful children and relief from our problems.

And there is nothing wrong with asking. Dua itself is an act of worship.

But sometimes I wonder whether we spend so much time asking Allah to change our circumstances that we forget to ask what needs to change inside us.

We ask for peace, but continue carrying hatred.

We ask for a good marriage, but refuse to work on our own character.

We ask Allah to bless our wealth, but hesitate when an opportunity to give appears.

We ask for righteous children, but what example of Islam do they actually see inside our homes?

And we ask for stronger iman while giving Allah whatever time remains after everything else.

Faith cannot simply be a list of things we want from Allah.

It must also be a willingness to become the person Allah wants us to be.

Sometimes the greatest answer to our dua may not be a new opportunity, more money or the disappearance of a problem.

Sometimes Allah changes the way we see the problem.

Sometimes He gives us patience before He gives us relief.

Sometimes He changes our hearts before He changes our circumstances.

The Qur’an reminds us that hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah.

So perhaps tonight, along with asking Allah to change something in our lives, we should make another dua:

“O Allah, show me what I need to change in myself.”

Because sometimes the door we keep asking Allah to open begins with a change within us.