Confession is not praying a lovely prayer or making pious excuses, or trying to impress God and other Christians. True confession is naming sin – calling it by name that God calls it: envy, hatred, lust, deceit or whatever it may be. Confession simply means being honest with ourselves and with God; and others if they are involved too… True confession is the heart of repentance.

Source: The Transformation Study Bible (NLT), Colorado USA: David C. Cook Publishers (2009), commentary by Dr Warren W. Wiersbe, p.2130