Customer Reviews

Letters by a Modern Mystic

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Frank Laubach was a Christian Missionary to the Philippines in the 1930s. This book is a compilation of the letters he wrote while in the Philippines, describing his attempt to keep God in his mind each and every moment of the day, thinking of and talking to God, and allowing God to work through him. The book describes his early difficulties and later successes. He ultimately had direct experiences of God, which he describes in mesmerizing detail. The letters are beautifully written and deeply inspiring. Laubach's experiences are testimony to the fact that God longs for our love and will respond when we give Him that love and attention, and align our lives with His will. Laubach also describes how he prayed inwardly for each person he encountered, and the profound change this made in his life and the lives of those around him. I guess the greatest thing that can be said about this book is that it has encouraged me to change my life as well. I now keep God in mind as much as possible each and every day and pray inwardly for each person I meet. Frank Laubach was a great man of God. It is a shame that this little book is out of print. I encourage you to find a copy. It has the power to change your life too.

This little book is a true gem for anyone who would take up the challenge of living in a moment-by-moment relationship with God. Through his letters to his father, Frank C.Laubach chronicles his spiritual journey of submitting his thoughts, emotions, and actions to God by asking these simple questions, "What, Father, would you desire said? What, Father would you desire done this minute?" If every Christian would put these questions at the forefront of their minds and hearts, the whole world would be turned upside down. I've read the book twice found Laubach's letters to be a profound encouragement to my personal spiritual growth.

One of the most profoundly moving books I've ever read - a collection of letters from Dr. Laubach to his father about the surprise, wonder and delight that he discovers as he begins to turn the eyes of his heart, soul, and mind to the very real Presence of God with him every moment of every day.

Already having played a significant role in the Phillipines at the time these letters were written (I believe they were written in his mid forties) Dr. Laubach moved forward engaged as fully as he could be with the living Christ in everything he did. As his Practice of the Presence began to transform his heart his work took on a new depth and power. He would eventually develop a literacy teaching methodology ("Each One Teach One") that would sweep across the third world and is still in use around the globe today. It's estimated that at the time of his death in 1970 over 60 million people had learned to read and write using his methodology.

He accomplished a great many things in his life, but he would go on to state that the one thing that he felt must surely stand the test of time would be the experiences and challenges that he shares with us in these letters.

If you are experiencing a "profound dissatisfaction" in the state of your relationship with God please read this book. In following Dr. Laubach's example your life will change in a thousand ways for the better.

I know mine has.

Grace and Peace.

A life-changing little book with more Wisdom and Love than you can imagine. It is a challenge to live every moment in the presence of God, but who could ask for a better companion? Surrendering to Love in a perfect union of friendship, devotion, and humility is what this book is all about....well, it's really all about GRACE. While reading Dallas Willard's work,The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes LivesHearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship With GodRenovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ, I found that Willard had really been touched by Laubach's writings. I searched Amazon and ebay, but the original printing was difficult to find. I was so excited to find that Willard had worked to bring this journey to the heart of God into print so that we all might enjoy. Reading this along with The Practice of the Presence of God is amazingly enriching and you can see that the pursuit of God, and God's pursuit of His children, stretches across the centuries and is just as real for all of us. You'll want to read this over and over again, and give it as a gift - just as Laubach gave it as a gift to all of us.

I'm biased. I worked for Frank Laubach's organization in the last years of his life and was CEO for the next 10 years. His organization was nonsectarian, devoted to extending literacy throughout the world.

A "Mystic," he is called in the title of this work, yet he was such an activist that he developed literacy primers in more than 1,000 languages in more than 100 countries. He raised money from private individuals for this cause and lived in a rented one-bedroom apartment with his wife Effa, with the living room a maze of file cabinets and a desk where he wrote 35 books.

This book was not intended as a book, just honest letters written home from the Philippines in his early career.

The defect of the book is three introductions. I would staple those pages together and go directly to Laubach's letters.

Always a modest, hard-working man, he had his face on the covers of such magazines as Time and The Saturday Review of Literature, and was never phased. Posthumously, his face was on a U.S. postage stamp.

This is an inspiring read for people of all faiths or no faith. I give it a top rating despite the superfluous introductions.

Bought this book as part of an exploration of Christian mysticism, but had some problems with it.

First, it only contains excerpts of his letters. All the high-flying religious bits are included, but none of his day-to-day thoughts. Thus you never really get a picture of the man himself, and the religion comes across as unreal without a context to put it in.

Second, a lot of his religious insights consist of "things God told him". While I have no doubt that God is still speaking to His children today, I am always cautious about individual revelations. The person might not have heard God correctly, or what was said might only be applicable to them. And I'm sorry, but I find the idea of sitting on a hillside having ecstasies and letting God move my tongue for me a little disconcerting. To be fair, this might be a reflection more on my current spiritual state rather than a problem with the book itself.

The second part of the book consists of "The Game of Minutes", which was designed to be a practical guide to implementing the principles described in the Letters. The basic philosophy is to keep God in mind as much as possible, in the same vein as Brother Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God". Laubach argues that we can't really expect Christ to change us or our world when the average Christian thinks of Him, at most, for 30 minutes every Sunday. He then details ways and means of keeping God in your thoughts during ordinary tasks, like reading, eating, studying, working, etc. I found this section to be helpful, and in fact think the publishers should have put this section first; the Letters make much more sense when you see what Laubach was actually trying to do.

In short, a practical supplement to Brother Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God", but without the charm and humility of the earlier work.

Laubach was a genius in religious circles, and in promoting literacy around the world. Occasionally he would write down some hints to the individual in developing a daily relationship with God. Laubach lived a mystical and practical life which is the most anyone can attain to.

In reading Soul Revolution, Burke mentioned Laubach and his practice of continually connecting with God. This book is a collection of his letters/journal about that experience. For those who are looking to be more closely connected with Jesus - the vine, this book shows that spiritual practice in action. Challenging, thought-provoking, full of hope. Highly recommend.

Laubach gives amazing insight into his own journey of walking with God. This is a great book for anyone who wants to cultivate his or her inner life. Read it slowly and discover the many gems of wisdom that will draw you into God's presence.

If you desire a closer walk with Jesus this little book might be helpful to you. Challenging, inspirational, and thought provoking.