Frank Laubach is the twentieth century guy who really practiced the Presence of God, reaped the reward of it, and wrote of it.

Do you know this man? Pretty incredible dude. At one point, he set out to make the rest of his life an experiment to see if he could live every moment in conscious awareness of God being with him. Or, as he wrote in his journal, “But this year I have started out trying to live all my waking moments in conscious listening to the inner voice, asking without ceasing, ‘What, Father, do you desire said? What, Father, do you desire done this minute?'”

He came up with and wrote his Game With minutes–“to call Him to mind at least one second of each minute.” This was his way of growing this ever blessed habit of abundant living.

He had gone on mission work to the Philippines, and after much frustration with others and himself, he decided to just live each moment to please God, paying attention to Him moment by moment, listening to His voice.

Everything changed.

God gave Laubach a system of literacy, along with the motto “Each One Teach One,” and he is credited with being responsible for 100 million people learning to read! No joke. No misspelling. ONE HUNDRED MILLION (say in Dr. Evil’s voice–except it’s the opposite of evil)! Because he was obedient and listened to God.

His little book Letters by a Modern Mystic has been one of the great blessings of my life. It is his collection of journal entires in the 1930s. Inspiring, incredible stuff. I love Frank Laubach and cannot wait to meet him and hug him.

Closing his little book The Game With Minutes, Frank Laubach says, “You win your minute if during that minute you either”:

1. Pray.
2. Recall God.
3. Sing or hum a devotional hymn.
4. Talk or write about God.
5. Seek to relieve suffering of any kind in a prayerful spirit.
6. Work with the consciousness of God’s presence.
7. Whisper to God.
8. Feel yourself encompassed by God.
9. Look at a picture or symbol of Christ.
10. Read a Scripture verse or poem about God.
11. Give someone a helpful hand for the Lord’s sake.
12. Breathe a prayer for the people you meet.
13. Follow the leading of the Inner Voice.
14. Plan or work for the Kingdom of God.
15. Testify to others about God, the church, or this game.
16. Share suffering or sorrow with another.
17. Hear God or see Him in flowers, trees, water, hills, sky.

In the Name of Jesus,
Soli Deo Gloria