Imam Ali (as): A delay in God's response to your supplication should not dishearten you, for verily the grant [from Allah] is proportional to [the sincerity of] your intention, and maybe the response has been delayed in order for it to be a greater reward for the one who asked and a greater bestowal for the hopeful one, or maybe you asked for something and it was not given to you and instead you are to be granted something better sooner or later, or it may have been kept away from you for your own good, for many a matter that you ask for would be detrimental to your religion [and faith] if it were to be given to you. Nahj al-Balāgha