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Letters by a Modern Mystic: Excerpts From Letters Written To His Father
First published in 1937, Letters by a Modern Mystic is a compilation of excerpts from letters Christian missionary Frank C. Laubach wrote to his father. Within them, Laubach shares his findings of the greatest experiment of his life: attempting to live in moment-by-moment communication with God.
Short, simple and extraordinarily powerful, this little book offers a profoundly challenging but life-changing way of living. Laubach’s letters are thoughtful and honest, documenting his failings and struggles with this spiritual discipline – but also showing the joy, wonder and transformation he experienced by connecting with God and living in communion with him every minute of the day.
Easy to read and full of wisdom, Letters by a Modern Mystic is essential reading for anyone seeking to deepen their connection with God or wanting to make their spiritual formation part of their everyday life. With a foreword by Pete Grieg show its continued relevance for today, it will challenge you to see that it is possible to live in communion with God in every moment and change the way you approach your faith.
Included at the back of this book is ‘The Game with Minutes’, the practical guide Laubach developed to assist others in applying the principles and spiritual practices in his letters. It is a game that has transformed countless lives – and it is time for a new generation to play.
Short, simple and extraordinarily powerful, this little book offers a profoundly challenging but life-changing way of living. Laubach’s letters are thoughtful and honest, documenting his failings and struggles with this spiritual discipline – but also showing the joy, wonder and transformation he experienced by connecting with God and living in communion with him every minute of the day.
Easy to read and full of wisdom, Letters by a Modern Mystic is essential reading for anyone seeking to deepen their connection with God or wanting to make their spiritual formation part of their everyday life. With a foreword by Pete Grieg show its continued relevance for today, it will challenge you to see that it is possible to live in communion with God in every moment and change the way you approach your faith.
Included at the back of this book is ‘The Game with Minutes’, the practical guide Laubach developed to assist others in applying the principles and spiritual practices in his letters. It is a game that has transformed countless lives – and it is time for a new generation to play.
- GenresChristian
117 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2021
7 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Frank C. Laubach
137 books30 followersFrank Charles Laubach (September 2, 1884 – June 11, 1970), from Benton, PA was a Congregational Christian missionary educated at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, and a mystic known as "The Apostle to the Illiterates." In 1915 (see Laubach, Thirty Years With the Silent Billion), while working among Muslims at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program. It has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in their own language. He was deeply concerned about poverty, injustice and illiteracy, and considered them barriers to peace in the world.
In 1955, he founded Laubach Literacy, which helped introduce about 150,000 Americans to reading each year and had grown to embrace 34 developing countries. An estimated 2.7 million people worldwide were learning to read through Laubach-affiliated programs. In 2002, this group merged with Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. to form ProLiteracy Worldwide.
During the latter years of his life, Laubach traveled all over the world speaking on the topics of literacy and world peace. He was author of a number of devotional writings and works on literacy.
One of his most widely influential devotional works was a pamphlet entitled "The Game with Minutes." In it, Laubach urged Christians to attempt keeping God in mind for at least one second of every minute of the day. In this way Christians can attempt the attitude of constant prayer spoken of in the Epistle to the Colossians. The pamphlet extolled the virtues of a life lived with unceasing focus on God. Laubach's insight came from his experiments in prayer detailed in a collection of his letters published under the title, Letters by a Modern Mystic.
Laubach is the only American missionary to be honored on a US postage stamp, a 30¢ Great Americans series stamp in 1984.
Laubach had a deep interest in the Philippines. He wrote a biography of the Filipino national hero, Jose Rizal: Man and Martyr, published in Manila in 1936. He also translated the hero's valedictory poem, "Mi Ultimo Adios" (My Last Farewell.)
His emphasis on the use of Easy English for literacy led directly to the development by WEC International in 1962 of an evangelistic paper using his basic vocabulary called SOON, which now prints 3 million copies a year.
In 1955, he founded Laubach Literacy, which helped introduce about 150,000 Americans to reading each year and had grown to embrace 34 developing countries. An estimated 2.7 million people worldwide were learning to read through Laubach-affiliated programs. In 2002, this group merged with Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. to form ProLiteracy Worldwide.
During the latter years of his life, Laubach traveled all over the world speaking on the topics of literacy and world peace. He was author of a number of devotional writings and works on literacy.
One of his most widely influential devotional works was a pamphlet entitled "The Game with Minutes." In it, Laubach urged Christians to attempt keeping God in mind for at least one second of every minute of the day. In this way Christians can attempt the attitude of constant prayer spoken of in the Epistle to the Colossians. The pamphlet extolled the virtues of a life lived with unceasing focus on God. Laubach's insight came from his experiments in prayer detailed in a collection of his letters published under the title, Letters by a Modern Mystic.
Laubach is the only American missionary to be honored on a US postage stamp, a 30¢ Great Americans series stamp in 1984.
Laubach had a deep interest in the Philippines. He wrote a biography of the Filipino national hero, Jose Rizal: Man and Martyr, published in Manila in 1936. He also translated the hero's valedictory poem, "Mi Ultimo Adios" (My Last Farewell.)
His emphasis on the use of Easy English for literacy led directly to the development by WEC International in 1962 of an evangelistic paper using his basic vocabulary called SOON, which now prints 3 million copies a year.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 1, 2023
Has radically shifted my mind to be further dispositioned towards God.
September 13, 2025
Wow! Truly excellent.
This collection of letters invites the reader into the journey of an ongoing experiment that Laubach engaged in, to keep God in mind every minute of the day.
I loved the honesty, especially with the amount of "failure", and the way Laubach paints a picture of the joys and delights that come from the small amount of success.
Reading this has given me a new set of ideas to embark on my own experiment, and it adds a few more practical handholds to that of Brother Lawrence's "simple method".
This collection of letters invites the reader into the journey of an ongoing experiment that Laubach engaged in, to keep God in mind every minute of the day.
I loved the honesty, especially with the amount of "failure", and the way Laubach paints a picture of the joys and delights that come from the small amount of success.
Reading this has given me a new set of ideas to embark on my own experiment, and it adds a few more practical handholds to that of Brother Lawrence's "simple method".
May 19, 2022
Simply amazing. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Life changing, transforming, easy to read and easy to try for yourself…
March 30, 2025
Ausgabe auf deutsch:
„In jeder Minute bist du da“
„In jeder Minute bist du da“
December 10, 2024
I praise God for this book. It shows his beauty and the rich life with him that my soul longs for.
"Open your soul and entertain the glory of God and after a while that glory will be reflected in the world about you and in the very clouds above your head."
"What right then have I, or any other person, to come here and change the name of these people from Muslim to Christian, unless I lead them to a life fuller of God than they have now? Clearly, clearly my job here is not to go into the town plaza and make proselytes, it is to live wrapped in God, trembling to his thoughts, burning with his passion, and, my beloved one, that is the best gift you can give to your own town."
"The most important discovery of my life is that one can take a little rough cabin and transform it into a palace just by flooding it with the thoughts of God."
"Open your soul and entertain the glory of God and after a while that glory will be reflected in the world about you and in the very clouds above your head."
"What right then have I, or any other person, to come here and change the name of these people from Muslim to Christian, unless I lead them to a life fuller of God than they have now? Clearly, clearly my job here is not to go into the town plaza and make proselytes, it is to live wrapped in God, trembling to his thoughts, burning with his passion, and, my beloved one, that is the best gift you can give to your own town."
"The most important discovery of my life is that one can take a little rough cabin and transform it into a palace just by flooding it with the thoughts of God."
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews