Frank Laubach (1884-1970): missionary to the Philippines, college dean, author, and developer of a highly-successful literacy program.
These are a few of the accomplishments of the devout Christian hero we met in last week’s post, “Toward Undiscovered Continents.”
His fifty-six books included those about the Philippines and teaching literacy, but also about growing into an intimate relationship with God, something he’d greatly desired, like King David centuries before:
In a letter dated March 23, 1930, Frank wrote, “Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind [1]?”
He decided to make the rest of his life an experiment, and for the next forty years Frank disciplined himself to become more aware and more submissive to his heavenly Father—moment by moment.
As the habit grew, Frank wrote it was “the most amazing thing I ever ran across.” In another letter he tried to describe the sheer joy he experienced one afternoon:
“God was so close and so amazingly lovely that I felt like melting all over with a strange and blissful contentment [2].”
Surely all of us desire such loveliness and contentment in God’s presence.
But how did Frank manage to accomplish such a goal? And how might we hope to achieve that kind of intimacy with God?
First, we have to be patient with ourselves. Seeking to experience God throughout the day takes time and practice. About seven weeks into his experiment, Frank admitted:
“When for a half hour or so He slips out of mind—as He does many times a day, I feel as though I had deserted Him, as though I had lost something very precious in my life [3].”
So how did Frank become more consistent in his focus?
Here are a few of his practical suggestions (The comments in brackets are my own):
- In the chinks of time between things, pray: “Lord, think your thoughts in my mind. What is on Your mind for me to do now?”
- Instead of talking to your “inner self,” talk to Jesus. Imagine Him with you.
- Pursue a two-way conversation in prayer. Ask, “God, what are You saying to me?” Let your imagination consider what you suppose He might answer. [It’s worthwhile to record these responses in a journal. Do keep in mind, God will never contradict what he’s already said in scripture.]
Can you imagine him saying, “I have been waiting for this moment all your life, waiting until you opened the channel so that I could speak. I have wonderful plans for you which cannot be realized until you listen as you are listening now [4].”
- Make a daily habit to prayerfully read about the life of Jesus, from the Bible-books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Try different translations to keep the experience fresh.
[Or, listen to scripture being read to you. Here’s an APP to try: https://www.bible.com/audio-bible/111/MAT.1.NIV .]
Frank urges, “Walk with Jesus through Galilee by walking with Him through the pages of His earthly history [5].”
- Hum a favorite prayer-hymn or chorus to yourself. [One possibility: “Take My Life and Let It Be,” with its upbeat tune.]
- We invite Christ to share—all day long–in everything we do, say, or think. We don’t need to stop our work, but “we try to call Him to mind at least one second of each minute [6].” [How’s that for a lofty but highly worthy goal?]
The websites listed below offer more of Frank’s suggestions.
With him we can attest: “Now that I have discovered Him I find that it is a continuous discovery. Every day is rich with new aspects of Him and His working [7].”
Doesn’t that sound delightful? Let’s make the most of our minutes, availing ourselves of that “melt-all-over, blissful contentment” in the presence of God that Frank Laubach wrote about.
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/803882
[1] https://renovare.org/articles/living-each-moment-with-a-sense-of-gods-presence-frank-laubach.
[2] Quoted by Nayswami Nakin at https://www.ananda.org/blog/laubach-christian-literacy-god/ .
[3] Letters of a Modern Mystic, quoted by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, www.renovare.org.
[4] These first three suggestions come from Laubach’s book, Prayer: The Mightiest Force in All the World, highlighted by Bill Gaultiere, at https://www.soulshepherding.org/christ-answer-inspiration-frank-laubach/.
[5] From The Game with Minutes, by Frank Laubach, quoted by Dr. Tom Sweeney at https://the-magpie.org/2017/02/28/laubach-on-experiencing-god-every-minute/.
[6] Dr. Tom Sweeney, https://sobrief.com/books/letters-by-a-modern-mystic.
[7] Dr. Tom Sweeney.
Image credits: http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.pexels.com (Mk7Bober); http://www.heartlight.org; Nancy Ruegg; http://www.pickpik.com; http://www.azquotes.com.
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