Yes, we do ask God the Father to forgive us our sins, as Jesus taught us in "The Lord's Prayer", and we know that Jesus Christ the Son also forgives sins (see, for example, Matthew 9, Mark 2, Luke 5, Luke 7), but God has also graciously made available to us human beings (including you, metmom, and me -- His children), a tremendously valuable gift, with many related, additional, collateral benefits, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which God designed and willed to be, as can be plainly seen from the following commands Jesus Christ made after His Resurrection:
John 20:19-23Do you believe Jesus Christ said those words after His Resurrection?19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Do you believe He had a real purpose in saying them, and that He really meant them?
God often delegates MANY tasks to mere, imperfect, weak, frail human beings to do, which He could obviously perform Himself without any human help if He chose to do so.
Another clear example of that is when God commands human beings to "Be fruitful and multiply". God could easily have arranged to do that process all by Himself, but in His infinite wisdom, He chose to retain a part which He performs in that sacred process, and also to make use of some actions by imperfect, weak, frail, human beings, the mother and the father, to which He delegates other important parts of that sacred process which they have to do as well.
Unless you think Jesus was wrong or lying here.
Luke 11:1-4 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”
Jesus HIMSELF taught us to go to the Father for forgiveness.