43-Allah is always close and answers the one who calls upon Him.
The First Khutbah
All praises are due to Allah, who is exalted in His majesty. ‎The One who responds to the desperate one whenever he ‎calls upon Him. I testify that there is nothing worthy of ‎worship except Allah, the uniquely One who has no partners ‎in His one-ness. And I testify that our Sayyid, our Prophet, ‎Muhammad is the slave of Allah and His Messenger, may the ‎peace and blessings upon him and upon whomsoever follows ‎him in guidance until the Last Day.‎

To Continue:
I advise you, O slaves of Allah and myself, ‎with the taqwa of Allah, as Allah says:‎
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
And have taqwa of Allah that you may succeed. ‎‎[Qur'an: 2:189]‎

O Believers: Allah says in the Quran:‎
وَإِذَا ‌سَأَلَكَ ‌عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], ‎concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the ‎supplication of the caller when he calls upon Me. ‎
‎[Qur'an: 2:186]‎

In this noble verse our Lord informs us of His closeness to us ‎and He promises us that He answers those who sincerely call ‎upon Him. So, in this verse we can see how supplicating to ‎Allah is from the greatest forms of worship, being from the ‎most noble of acts, as it opens a door of closeness and ‎intimate proximity with the Divine.

For this reason, the ‎Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is ‎reported to have said:‎
لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَكْرَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ
Nothing is more honorable before Allah than the act of ‎supplication. [Tirmidhi]‎
For this reason, we can say that any person given to sincere ‎supplication is a person who Allah has blessed. For Allah ‎would never have facilitated such supplication as a means for ‎such a person, except that He wishes to grant him that which ‎he asks for, whether it be decreed in this life, or stored up for ‎him in the next.

The power of such dua was alluded to by the ‎Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when he ‎mentioned how sincere supplication can alter the course of the ‎Divine decree itself, as he was reported to have said:‎
لَا يَرُدُّ الْقَضَاءَ إِلَّا الدُّعَاءُ
Nothing but supplication averts the decree. [Tirmidhi]‎

Slaves of Allah:
There are factors and means that help ensure ‎our supplications are answered, these include persistence in ‎doing alot of such supplication. For this would be consistent ‎with emulating the way of the Prophets (peace and blessings ‎of Allah be upon them all), whom the Qur'an praises by ‎stating:
‎إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا
Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate ‎Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly ‎submissive. [Qur'an: 21:90]‎

Likewise, if we make much repetition in our supplication, ‎then this would be in emulation of our Prophet (peace and ‎blessings of Allah be upon him) who often used to make ‎supplication by repeating that same supplication three times. ‎

Also, from the means that enable our duas to be answered is ‎that we call upon Allah with hearts full of reverence and awe ‎of Him, in Arabic this is called Khashyah. This also entails ‎that we always have within our hearts a good opinion of ‎Allah, and that we be certain that He will respond in the best ‎of ways to whatever it is we ask.

For the Prophet (peace and ‎blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:‎
ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالْإِجَابَةِ
Supplicate to Allah whilst you are assured of being ‎answered. [Tirmidhi]‎ Finally, from the best of means to aid our supplications in ‎being answered is that we join our supplications with the ‎doing of good deeds.

For Allah says:‎
فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ
And their Lord responded to them, "Never will I allow to ‎be lost the work of [any] worker among you…" [Qur'an: ‎‎3:195]‎

O Allah, enable us to be of those who make much sincere ‎supplication of you, with hearts full of your love, and at all ‎times throughout our days and nights. We ask for you ‎acceptance in this supplication of ours, O Lord of all of ‎creation. I say this and seek forgiveness for myself and for ‎you, so seek His forgiveness for He is the most-forgiving.‎

Second Khutbah
All praises are for Allah, the One, and may peace and ‎blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his ‎family and companions, and whomsoever follows them in the ‎best of ways.‎

O Believers: Allah says in the Quran:‎
وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنْسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنْبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا
And when affliction touches man, he calls upon Us, ‎whether lying on his side or sitting or standing.‎ ‎[Qur'an: 10:12]‎

Brothers and sisters, currently humanity at large, as a whole, ‎is in a state of affliction with the current pandemic. It has ‎engulfed all parts of the world, and it serves as a reminder to ‎us all that we have really have no recourse except through a ‎sincere turning to Allah. This is the time for sincere ‎supplication, for sincere dua, done with hearts that have ‎resolved to turn back to the One who created them.

If we can ‎do this, if we can enable and activate that heart of sincerity, ‎sincerely turning to its Creator – then we will find an opening ‎of closeness in the midst of such difficulty. And we will find ‎that Allah will facilitate us to do that which is good, for good ‎begets good. We will also find hope for the good tidings for ‎this pandemic to be raised, and for the ultimate wellbeing of ‎an Ummah connected to the Divine. ‎