Searching for the truth about God? Pray this prayer

St. John Henry Newman wrote this prayer specifically for someone who is seeking the truth.

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John Henry Newman was a seeker of truth for his entire life, often turning to prayer. He was never satisfied with what he was taught as a child and kept on going deeper and deeper into the past to discover the truth about God and Christianity.

What he found was surprising, and it turned his life upside-down, eventually moving him to convert to the Catholic Church. Even after he became Catholic, Newman continually searched for the truth and wasn’t satisfied with his knowledge.

Many of us may be in a similar situation. We may want to know more about God, but have so many doubts and questions. It can be a struggle to discover the truth. The key is to maintain a prayerful heart and to remain humble, always reliant on God’s grace.

Newman understood this perfectly, and composed a short prayer for every seeker who desires the truth about God.

O my God, I confess that Thou canst enlighten my darkness. I confess that Thou alone canst. I wish my darkness to be enlightened. I do not know whether Thou wilt: but that Thou canst and that I wish, are sufficient reasons for me to ask, what Thou at least hast not forbidden my asking. I hereby promise that by Thy grace which I am asking, I will embrace whatever I at length feel certain is the truth, if ever I come to be certain. And by Thy grace I will guard against all self-deceit which may lead me to take what nature would have, rather than what reason approves.