A traditional prayer of personal return, drawn from the anthologies of Jewish rabbinical writings, places the worshiper on his knees before the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "Eternal One," the prayer begins, "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, the heavens and the earth are the work of Your hand. You gave the sea its shore. With a single word You restrained the might of the deep."
The voice then shifts from praise to confession. "You are merciful as You are great. You have promised to accept the teshuvah of those who return to You with an upright heart. My sins are as numerous as the grains of sand along that seashore You commanded. I have done evil before You, acted wickedly in Your presence, committed abominations."
"Bound with fetters I come before You," the penitent continues. "On my knees I plead in the name of Your great attributes of mercy. Have compassion on my suffering and my distress. Pardon me, O Lord. Forgive me. Do not utterly destroy me because of my transgressions. Let not my punishment be eternal."
The prayer ends with a vow and a doxology. "Though I am unworthy of Your goodness, save me in Your mercy. From this day onward I will praise Your Name every day of my life, for all Your creatures delight in praising You, and to You belongs greatness and goodness forever and ever, Selah."
It is a prayer for the moment when a person cannot argue his case and can only throw himself on the thirteen attributes (Exodus 34:6-7). In that moment the only strategy left is the one this prayer models: stop defending, start praising, and beg.