If you look in the Qur'an in Surat al-Baqarah, you are going to find that there is a series of verses on Ramadhaan.

O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious).
(Surat al-Baqarah: 183)

The second verse is:
[Observing Sawm (fasts)] for a fixed number of days.
(Surat al-Baqarah: 184)

The third verse is:
The month of Ramadhaan in which was revealed the Qur'an.
(Surat al-Baqarah: 185)

Three verses after each other on matters directly pertaining to fasting. Suddenly you get to the fourth verse and it is out of topic. It is about Du'aa.

And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor).
(Surat al-Baqarah: 186)

Then you go the fifth verse and it goes back to the rules and regulations of fasting:

It is made lawful for you to have sexual relations with your wives on the night of As-Sawm (the fasts).
(Surat al-Baqarah: 187)

Why was there a verse on Du'aa in between a series of verses directly speaking about fasting? Why would Allah put a verse here that is off topic? Is it off topic? Impossible. Every aspect of the Qur'an is perfected. There is a break in the verses of the Qur'an pertaining to the topic of fasting to draw your attention to the importance of Du'aa and that Ramadhaan is the month of Du'aa.
There are times that Du'aa is more likely to be answered and Ramadhaan is one of the best seasons for that. Look deeper into that verse:

And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor).
(Surat al-Baqarah: 186)

Fourteen times in the Qur'an you are going to find and they ask you and if they ask you, Yas'aloonaka (يَسْأَلُونَكَ) and Wa Ithaa Sa'alaka (وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ) (thirteen Yas'aloonaka and one Wa Ithaa Sa'alaka). Every one of the times when Allah says and they ask you, you are going to find Qul (قُلْ) (and tell them), except one time in the Qur'an which is about Du'aa. It is consistent in every one of them, except in Du'aa. If they ask you, and there is no Qul (and tell them). It is trying to convey pure Tawheed to you, that this is a relationship between you and Allah directly. No Messenger, no Wali and not even the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam is between you and Allah. The Du'aa is directly between you and Allah. It is complete Tawheed, pure Tawheed, and that is why there is no Qul in it.

THE SPECIAL TIMES FOR DU'AA

The Du'aa is answered at all times and in all situations. Allah answers at all times (days, nights or evenings) and in all situations (standing, sitting or laying in bed). In Wudhu or out of Wudhu, it does not matter. But there are times and situations where Du'aa is more likely to be answered. Let us take some of those tips so we can perfect our Du'aa in this month of Du'aa. And not only that, but we are never going to stop making Du'aa after it Inshaa Allah Ta'aala.

Pursue the special times. For example, the Days of 'Arafaat, the month of Ramadhaan, the one third end of the night, when it rains, after Iqaamah, between Athaan and Iqaamah and the Du'aa of a fasting person. At the one third end of the night, Allah descends to the heaven closest to the earth and asks is there is anyone who needs anything? Is there anyone who needs to be forgiven so I can forgive him? The more you combine of these special times and situations, the more likeliness that the Du'aa will be accepted Inshaa Allah. For example, combining Ramadhaan with the night of Laylat al-Qadar, Sujood (prostration) and the one third end of the night. Look how amazing that is, special times and special situations.

BE FORMAL IN YOUR DU'AA

You can make Du'aa at any time and in any situation, but be formal sometimes. For example, sometimes go make Wudhu and plan it. It is like a date, plan it. Go make Wudhu, pray two Rak'ah, face the Qiblah, be formal and raise your hands. In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam raised his hands once until his armpits were showing (the whiteness of his armpits was showing). Sometimes he raised them close to his chest and sometimes he made Du'aa with his finger, and it is proper to make Du'aa with your finger.

Allah the Ever Living, the Most Generous, if a man raises his hands in supplication, He will be ashamed to return his hands disappointed or empty. He will never turn your hands away with zero and He is ashamed to do that.

Abu Dardaa' used to say raise your hands to Allah before they are fettered in chains.

MAKE DU'AA IN A VOICE NOT TOO LOUD AND NOT TOO LOW

When the Sahaabah raised their voices out loud, the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ، إِنَّ الَّذِي تَدْعُونَ لَيْسَ بِأَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا
In Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim. He said you are not calling someone who is deaf or absent.

And likewise in the Qur'an:

And offer your Salat (prayer) neither aloud nor in a low voice, but follow a way between.
(Surat al-Israa': 110)

Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret.
(Surat al-A'raaf: 55)

Verses that mean neither loud nor low, but follow a way in between. And that is one of the manners of Du'aa.

Allah praised Zakariyyah for keeping his voice in between:

When he called out his Lord (Allah) a call in secret.
(Surat Maryam: 3)

DO NOT TRY TO MAKE YOUR DU'AA RHYTHMIC

Do not try overly to make Du'aa rhythmic like a poem. If it happens normally then okay, but to go out of your way and do that is wrong. That does not happen a lot in English, it happens a lot in Arabic. It is called Saja' (سجع), where they try so hard and go overboard in trying to make their Du'aa rhythmic.

Allah said in the Qur'an:

Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.
(Surat al-A'raaf: 55)

When He talks about Du'aa, at the end He says He does not like those who transgress in Du'aa. Some of the 'Ulamaa consider this transgression, like saying Rahmaan, Qur'an, Insaan, Bayaan and going out of your way in doing that. Now even though it is not an issue in English, I mention it because there is a lesson to it.

The reason it is disliked by the Salaf (including a direct statement by Ibn Abbaas in Sahih al-Bukhari where he tells his servant not to do that) is because it takes out the humility in Du'aa. You need to communicate your Du'aa to Allah sincerely and in humility, in a way you feel best comes out of your heart. That is the point of Du'aa. It is not about being eloquent, that is not how it works with Allah. In this world, you have to be eloquent to get some positions. With Allah, focus on humility, sincerity and getting your heart into your Du'aa.

Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear.
(Surat al-Anbiyaa': 90)

Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret.
(Surat al-A'raaf: 55)

BE FIRM IN YOUR DU'AA

Be firm in your Du'aa, knowing Allah will answer you. In Sunan at-Tirmidhi:
Call on Allah being certain that your prayer will be answered, but know at the same time that Allah will not answer the prayer of a heart which is negligent.
When you make Du'aa, be firm and have your heart in it. Be firm that Allah is going to answer you. Do not say O Allah forgive me if You will. Do not say that, say O Allah forgive me period. Be firm and know that Allah is going to forgive you. Do not feel hesitant that Allah will not answer you. If Allah answered the Shaytaan, do you think He will not answer me and you? The Shaytaan asked Allah to allow him respite until the Day they get resurrected:

(Iblees) said: "Allow me respite till the Day they are raised up (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)." (Allah) said: "You are of those allowed respite."
(Surat al-A'raaf: 14-15)

Me and you are not worse than the Shaytaan. No matter what we did, we are not worse than the Shaytaan, even though we have mountains and mountains of sins. If Allah did not reject the Du'aa of the Shaytaan, will He reject my Du'aa and your Du'aa?
Even the non believers (Mushrikeen) asked Allah sincerely at one point and Allah answered them.

And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only, but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others.
(Surat al-Ankaboot: 65)

When they were in the oceans and the currents and wind was about to drown them, they turned to Allah alone. They left Shirk and turned to Allah alone for moments. Those were people who associated partners to Allah and people who Allah knew are going to go back to associating partners to Him as soon as He takes them to the shore. Yet for moments when they sincerely invoked Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala, He responded to their Du'aa. If He responded to the Du'aa of the Mushrikeen who for a short period of time did Du'aa sincerely, do you think He will not answer the Du'aa of the Muwahhideen?

BE PERSISTENT IN YOUR DU'AA

Be persistent in your Du'aa, and this is an A and B. When we say be persistent, it is A. First of all, make your Du'aa in persistence. When you ask Allah, ask Him over and over again, pleading and begging.

In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to make Du'aa three times. Ibn Masood said he used to make it three, three, three, ask Allah three times. That is in making Du'aa, then be persistent over time. If you do not get it overnight, do not give up, make Du'aa more and more and do not ever say I am making so much Du'aa and Allah is not answering me. You negate your Du'aa like that.
يُسْتَجَابُ لأَحَدِكُمْ مَا لَمْ يَعْجَلْ فَيَقُولُ : قَدْ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ يُسْتَجَبْ لِي ، فَإِذَا دَعَوْتُ فَاسْأَلَ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً فَإِنَّكَ تَدْعُو كَرِيمَا
In Bukhari and Muslim. The Du'aa of any one of you will be answered so long as he is not impatient and says I made Du'aa but it was not answered.

There were some of the Salaf who did not get what they wanted in twenty years and they said we still have hope that Allah is going to answer us.

MAKE SALAH ON THE PROPHET SALLALLAHU 'ALAYHI WA SALLAM AT THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END OF YOUR DU'AA

Start and end your Du'aa with Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and find a spot in between to make Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Abu Sulaymaan ad-Daraani said a beautiful statement. He said start your Du'aa with Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and end it with Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Why? Look at how amazing his statement was. He said because the Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam is automatically accepted, and the Most Generous Allah is not going to accept the beginning and the end and leave out the middle.

Always make Salah on the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam in the beginning, middle and end of your Du'aa. In Sahih at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Katheer said its chain is authentic, Umar Ibn al-Khattab radhiallahu 'anhu said Du'aa is suspended between the heaven and the earth, none of it is taken up until you send your blessing on the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. This may be a personal statement by Umar Ibn al-Khattab because Umar said it and he did not say that the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said it. However, the rule on such personal statements is that they are considered attributable to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam because these are matters of Deen. There is no way Umar came up with this on his own. It is a rule on this matter and similar Ahaadith like this.

Al-Bayhaqi narrated a similar statement by Ali in Shu'ab Al-Imaan (شعب الإيمان). He said Ali radhiallahu 'anhu himself said every Du'aa is not responded to until one sends his blessing on the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. This Hadith is also narrated by Baqee' Ibn Makhlad from Ali as Marfoo' (مرفوع) (meaning that Ali said the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said it). So it is attributed to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam by Baqee' Ibn Makhlad. Do you know who Baqee' Ibn Makhlad is? Baqee' Ibn Makhlad is the one I gave a talk on, the man whose Du'aa got accepted for a prisoner who was taken. When he made Du'aa, the shackles kept breaking and breaking until they finally released him and they said someone has been making Du'aa for you.

WORK ON YOUR INTERNAL MATTERS

The final matter is work on your internal matters and that is very long. This whole topic is very long but this is a super short summary. For example, repent to Allah before you make Du'aa. Return the rights of others, turn whole heartedly to Allah, give charity and rest assured Allah will not let you down. He said ask and I will give you, and He will.

Ibn al-Mubaarak said I went to Madinah one time when there was a drought and people went out to make Istisqaa' for a very long time. He said one day I went to the Masjid and I sat next to a black man who was wearing Khash (rough clothes made out of camel hair or goat hair). People were gone for a long time, Allah did not answer and I happened to sit next to this black man in the Masjid. His clothes were wrapped around his waist and one on his shoulders. I heard him say Yaa Allah you blocked the rain on the people to teach the sinners a lesson. Yaa Haleem Yaa Allah, Yaa Haleem Yaa Allah, Yaa Haleem Yaa Allah, the One whose servants see nothing but good from Him, grant them rain. Give them rain now, give them rain now, now, now, he kept saying now (as-Saa'ah, as-Saa'ah (الساعة)). Ibn al-Mubaarak said he kept saying as-Saa'ah as-Saa'ah until clouds came from every direction and it began to thunder and rain all over. The giants of the 'Ulamaa had been going for some time making Istisqaa'. The rich, the poor, the leaders and the laymen, yet this neglected black man wearing the poorest of poorest clothes that they wore at that time raises his hands in Du'aa and Allah answers him.

My brother and sister, as members of the Islamic Ummah, you are held accountable for your shortcomings to your wronged Muslims (the ones who are oppressed). Make Du'aa for you, for your family and for your loved ones, but also include the oppressed and wronged Muslims in your Du'aa every day, so at least when you stand before Allah you can say Yaa Allah I made Du'aa. Ibn al-Mubaarak went to visit al-Fudhayl Ibn 'Iyyaadh after this incident. They were both giants and both were Imaams. Al-Fudhayl looked at the face of Ibn al-Mubaarak and he said what is wrong Ibn al-Mubaarak? He said there are other matters that people beat us in. He told him the story and they were agonised at how people worshipped Allah in secrecy and that they beat them (they got their Du'aa answered). When he told al-Fudhayl Ibn 'Iyyadh, al-Fudhayl Ibn 'Iyyaadh shouted and fell unconscious.

A brother showed me a clip a few days ago of a group of Muslims in a cell and a judge with his chest up high and arrogant issues the order on those Muslims, that they be executed. They walked out and he walked out, they went to prison and he left. The days went on and the clip actually shows one of them talking, he said we made Du'aa to Allah sincerely that He grant us release from prison with honour, and we were persistent on it. You know when you are secluded and alone in solitary and you are tormented and tortured, the Du'aa comes from the deep down bottom of your heart. He said we thought someone was going to come one day and dig us out of the prison, the prison is going to bust open and break or an earthquake is going to happen. We did not how it was going to happen but we knew Allah was going to answer our Du'aa. Suddenly one day someone comes with a key, opens the door and says you are free to go home. The world has changed, the leader of the country for a decade is gone and you are free to go home.
In this month, activate your Ibaadah of Du'aa. When you make Du'aa, other than all the benefits you are going to get, you get reward for merely asking Allah. You know how you get reward for reading Qur'an and you get reward for Dhikr? You get reward just for Du'aa. Yes Allah will answer your Du'aa but you get a bonus on top of that, you get reward for merely making Du'aa because it is an Ibaadah.
الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ
So ask Allah, supplicate and turn to the One whose door is never closed.

Please share this with your family and friends. :)

Jazak Allah khair.