I recently had an experience which provides an example for how to repent and turn to the Lord. I am in the habit of giving out books as gifts. They're usually books that I really enjoy and that I think everyone should read because of the message they contain. I slightly consider who I am giving the gift to and then pick from a selection of books that I have pre-bought for that purpose. You can see that these are not gifts that I put a lot of time and thought into, but I still think they're great gifts. One friend recently thanked me for the gift and informed me that they probably wouldn't read it, but it was nice of me anyways. We're good enough friends that it was okay to say that. Here's the story that relates to repentance. A few weeks later, that friend felt like they had done something which offended me (they hadn't, but they thought they had). I received an email the next day that said this:

"Alright so I'm still feeling bad for last night and I was trying to
think of a way to make it up to you. I didn't really come up with
anything. But I thought, he seems to really want me to read
that book, so I started reading that story, I forget what it's called
but it has "to be filed" somewhere in the title. I'm not very far
yet, so far, who is it, Kipplinger? he is introducing some drunk guy
and taking him to his house, & that's as far as I've gotten."

You see, when my friend thought he had offended me and wanted to make it up, he tried to think of something he could do to show me how much he cared. He chose something that he didn't want to do, but he knew was important to me. He thought that this would mend the relationship. So, when we're trying to mend our relationship with Heavenly Father, why would we do anything different? I have to admit, when I read that email, I felt loved. I thought, "Wow, my buddy really cares." Isn't that what we want Heavenly Father to think and feel towards us? So, when I was later confronted with sin and being separated from the Spirit, needing to repent, the story of my friend came to mind. Instead of going through some repetitive motions, I asked myself what Heavenly Father has wanted me to do that I haven't done, that would show him how much I cared and how much I was willing to give up to mend our relationship. For me personally, this meant fasting for 24 hours (which I hadn't been doing) and going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier than I had been doing. This was a way of submitting myself to His will and also showing that I cared enough about the relationship to do what I could to make it up to Him.

So, next time you find yourself saying, "I'm sorry" in prayer, ask yourself, "What has Heavenly Father asked of me lately that I have not yet fulfilled?" Do that thing. See if it allows you to feel closer to Him. Maybe the change is in you and not Him (most likely), but whatever the reason, see if it brings you closer to Him.