He came to his senses, and returned to his father, who welcomed him, and said that the one who was dead is alive.
Can we repent? Can the lost repent? Can the dead repent?
If God grants us repentance...
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
2Cr 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
Act 5:31Act 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Repentance is a gift of God .... seeking it with tears as did Esau or Judas who tied to repent and could not find it.
Hbr 12:16 Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Hbr 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Mat 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Mat 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].
Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
2Cr 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
To have true repentance one must hate sin. An unregenerate man does not hate sin, he loves it. So our desire to come, our ability and desire to repent and the ability to trust in Christ alone as our Savior all come from Gods drawing us and His work of regeneration in us.
We come and we confess not because we were seeking Him, but because he sought us.
John 6 tells us that no man can come unless the Father draws him. Scripture is very clear on who does the drawing and the work and will of saving.