Letters by a Modern Mystic
Frank Laubach wrote these intimate letters to his father from the remote island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where he served as a missionary among the Maranao people from 1930 to 1932. Isolated from Western civilization and facing the challenge of reaching a Muslim population that had initially resisted his presence, Laubach found himself drawn into an intensely personal experiment in continuous communion with God. The letters chronicle his attempt to live each moment in conscious awareness of God's presence, transforming ordinary missionary work into a laboratory for contemplative practice.
The core of Laubach's spiritual experiment involves what he calls "the game with minutes" — a deliberate effort to turn his attention to God as frequently as possible throughout each day. Rather than advocating for withdrawal from the world, he develops techniques for maintaining divine awareness while engaged in practical tasks like language learning, community building, and educational work. His method is thoroughly incarnational: God becomes present not through escape from daily responsibilities but through their sanctification. Laubach describes specific practices for cultivating this continuous awareness, from breath prayers to momentary redirections of attention, always testing these methods against their practical effectiveness in his demanding missionary context.
The letters gained widespread influence because they demonstrated contemplative practice integrated with active service, appealing to readers who sought mystical depth without monastic withdrawal. Laubach's approach influenced mid-century Protestant spirituality and contributed to renewed interest in contemplative prayer across denominational lines. His literacy work, which grew directly from these spiritual insights, eventually reached millions worldwide, making him a bridge figure between contemplative and social action traditions.
Who should read this: Christians seeking to deepen prayer life without abandoning worldly responsibilities, and those curious about how contemplative practice might enhance rather than compete with active service. This is not for readers seeking systematic theology or comprehensive instruction in contemplative methods.