Asking while admitting you might not deserve it
The prayer of those the Qur'an calls patient, truthful and asking forgiveness before dawn.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ وَٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ وَٱلْقَـٰنِتِينَ وَٱلْمُنفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِٱلْأَسْحَارِ
Rabbanā innanā āmannā fa-ghfir lanā dhunūbanā wa qinā ʿadhāba-n-nār.
“Those who say, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire," The patient, the true, the obedient, those who spend [in the way of Allāh], and those who seek forgiveness before dawn.”
Source
The Qur'an · 3:16-17
Qur'an
- Qur'anic text in the Uthmani script via Quran.com; translation: Saheeh International