Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) instructed,

‘Pray two rakah salah with intention of making repentance and then supplicate as follows;

O Allah! I am Your obstinate disobedient servant.

I want to become obedient but nothing happens with my desires. However, everything is possible only with You.

I want to reform myself but I lack the determination to do so. Only You can reform me.

O Allah! I am extremely inapt, severely corrupt and very sinful. I am failing. Please, help me!

I have a weak determination to resist temptations of sinful activities. Please, give me the power to do so.

I do not have anything for salvation. Please, provide me with the means of salvation from Your hidden treasures.’

For ten or twelve minutes  make repentance arduously. Then say;

‘O Allah! Kindly forgive all the sins that I have committed till now. Though I do not say that I will not commit them again. I am aware that I will do them again. However, I will ask for forgiveness again.’

In this manner daily ask for forgiveness, acknowledge your weakness, supplicate for betterment (islah) and verbally recount your ineptness, corruption and evilness. In short, debase yourself explicitly in front of Allah daily for ten minutes.

O brothers! Neither take the medicine nor abstain from the harmful, only use small quantity of this elixir daily prior to sleep.

In few days you will observe that from Divine sources your determination will become strong without facing humility and hardships. Overall, things will happen from Divine which you can not even imagine now.’

Waaz: Milat e Ibrahim, Volume 31, page 390, quoted from Majalis e Hazrat Eshrat ra, page 13-4