Prayer of repentance (from Psalm 51)
Psalm 51 is the Bible's great prayer of repentance. Its heading in the King James Version says David wrote it “when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba”: after adultery, and after arranging the death of her husband (2 Samuel 11-12). If God heard this prayer, He will hear yours.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
Repentance in Psalm 51 has a shape you can follow. David asks for mercy before anything else (verses 1-2). He names his sin without excuses (verses 3-4). He asks to be made new, not just let off (verses 10-12). And he trusts that God welcomes a broken heart (verse 17). In Faithero you can read the whole psalm in the King James Version or the Douay-Rheims, and tap any verse to have it explained in plain words.
A prayer of confession from Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, not because I deserve it but because Your love does not run out. I have sinned against You: (name it, plainly). I will not hide it or explain it away. Wash me clean. Do more than forgive me: give me a clean heart and a steady spirit, so I do not walk straight back into the same thing. Give me back the joy I lost. I bring You a broken heart, because You have said You will not turn it away. Amen.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Prayer for forgiveness of sins
This is a fuller prayer of confession, for when you set aside time to look honestly at your life. Go slowly. Let God bring things to mind, and confess them one by one. If you are not sure what counts, our page on what sin is may help.
A prayer for forgiveness of my sins
Holy God, I come to You honestly. I have sinned against You with my words, my actions and my thoughts, and by the good I walked past. I have hurt people You love. I have put myself first. I confess these to You now: (name them). I am sorry, and I want to turn around. Forgive me for the sake of Jesus, who died for me. Make me clean, and teach me to walk differently tomorrow. Amen.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Prayer when you keep falling into the same sin
Coming back to God with the same sin again is humbling, but it is not hopeless. God's patience is longer than your track record. Keep confessing, and get help: a friend, a pastor or a counselor who can walk with you. Our page on how to overcome temptation may also help.
When it is the same sin again
Lord, I am back again with the same thing. I am tired of it, and I am ashamed to ask again. But Your mercy is new this morning, and I need it. Forgive me. Show me what leads me here, and give me the courage to change it, even if that means asking someone for help. Make me stronger tomorrow than I was today. I will keep coming back to You, because You keep taking me back. Amen.
“It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Prayer to forgive someone who hurt you
Forgiving someone is not saying that what they did was okay, and it does not mean you must trust them again right away. It means handing the debt to God and refusing to let bitterness run your life. It is often a choice you make many times before the feelings catch up. Our guide on how to forgive someone who hurt you goes deeper. And if the person is still hurting you, forgiveness does not mean staying in danger: in the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
When I need to forgive someone
Lord Jesus, (name) hurt me, and You know exactly how much. I am angry, and part of me wants them to pay. But You have forgiven me more than I can count, so I choose, with Your help, to forgive them. I hand You what they owe me. I will stop replaying it. Heal the wound they left, and show me what is wise from here, including any boundaries I need. And if I cannot mean all of this yet, I will pray it again tomorrow. Amen.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
On the cross, Jesus prayed for the men who put Him there: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34, KJV). For more of what Scripture says, see our Bible verses about forgiveness.
Prayer for forgiving yourself
Some guilt stays long after God has forgiven. If you have confessed something and still carry it, that does not mean God's forgiveness did not work. “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20, KJV).
When I cannot let it go
Father, I have confessed this, and You have forgiven me, but I keep picking it back up. I replay it at night. I call myself names You never call me. Help me believe that when You forgive, You do not keep a copy. Where I still need to make amends, give me the courage to do it. Where I cannot undo what I did, let me carry the lesson and not the shame. Teach me to receive mercy, not only to ask for it. Amen.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12, KJV).
Prayer for a broken relationship
Sometimes forgiveness is only half of it: you also want the friendship, the marriage or the family tie back. That takes two people, and you can only answer for one. Pray for your part, and leave theirs with God.
For a relationship that is broken
God of peace, this relationship is broken, and I miss what we had. Show me what I did to break it, and give me the humility to say so. Soften both our hearts. Give us a good moment to talk, and the right words when it comes. If they are not ready, help me wait without resentment. If it cannot be what it was, help me make peace with what it can be. Amen.
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
Prayer before you ask someone to forgive you
Jesus said that if someone has something against you, making it right comes even before worship (Matthew 5:23-24). Pray before you call, write or knock on the door.
Before I apologize
Lord, I need to say sorry to (name). Help me do it without excuses. Let me name what I did, not what they did. Give me the courage to listen, even when it is hard to hear. I cannot control how they respond, so I leave that with You. Whatever happens, help me do my part to make it right. Amen.
“Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Frequently asked
What is a short prayer for forgiveness?
The shortest one in the Bible is the tax collector's: “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13, KJV). Jesus said that man went home justified. You can pray it just as it stands, or in your own words: God, I did wrong; forgive me for Jesus' sake, and help me make it right.
What is the difference between confession and repentance?
Confession is telling God the truth about what you did. Repentance is turning around: changing your mind about the sin and, with God's help, your direction. Psalm 51 holds the two together, and so does Proverbs: “whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, KJV).
Will God forgive me if I keep committing the same sin?
Yes, when you come back to Him honestly. Jesus told Peter to forgive “Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22, KJV), and God is not less patient than He asks us to be. Keep confessing, but also take practical steps and ask someone you trust for help, so that forgiveness becomes the start of change.
Do I have to forgive someone who is not sorry?
Christians answer this in two ways. Some point to Jesus' words “if he repent, forgive him” (Luke 17:3, KJV) and say full forgiveness waits for repentance, though you still give up revenge. Others point to Jesus praying for His killers from the cross (Luke 23:34) and say you can forgive from the heart now. Both agree that you should not feed bitterness, and that being reconciled, trusting and close again, takes two people and may not be safe or wise.
Do I have to confess my sins to a priest?
Churches answer this differently. The Catholic Church teaches that serious sins are confessed to a priest in the sacrament of Penance, and it recommends confessing lesser sins too. Orthodox Christians also confess in the presence of a priest, who prays a prayer of absolution. Lutheran and Anglican churches offer private confession with a pastor or priest as well. Many other Protestant churches teach that you confess straight to God in prayer, and James 5:16 encourages confessing to one another. In every one of these traditions, it is God who forgives.
Is there a sin God will not forgive?
Jesus spoke of one: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-29). He said it to religious leaders who had decided His power came from the devil (Mark 3:22-30). The Catholic Catechism describes it as deliberately refusing God's mercy by refusing to repent. If you are afraid you have committed it, that fear is itself a sign your heart has not turned against God, and His invitation is still open.
Forgiven people learn to forgive
Jesus told a story about a servant who was forgiven a debt he could never repay, and who then went out and grabbed a fellow servant by the throat over a much smaller one (Matthew 18:23-35). The master's question still lands: “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Matthew 18:33, KJV).
That is why the Lord's Prayer ties the two together: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, KJV). We do not earn God's mercy by forgiving others. But the more we take in how much we have been forgiven, the more room we find to forgive. Start with the first prayers on this page. The harder ones come easier from there.
Short prayer for forgiveness
Pray this as soon as you know you have done wrong. You do not have to wait until you feel sorry enough, or until you have fixed it.
When I have just done something wrong
God, have mercy on me. I did wrong, and I know it. I will not make excuses. Forgive me for Jesus' sake, and help me make right whatever I can. Thank You that Your mercy is bigger than my mistake, and that You are not tired of me. Amen.