Dr. Frank C. Laubach (September 2, 1884—June 11, 1970) was a Christian Evangelical missionary and mystic known as “The Apostle to the Illiterates.” In 1935, while working at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the “Each One Teach One” literacy program, which 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 a barrier to peace in the world.
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 book of Colossians. The pamphlet extolled the virtues of a life lived with unceasing focus on God. Laubach tried to call the attention of Christians to this fact. Any one of us can spend his day in Christ’s presence, he observed. And yet we do not. He urged us to think to Christ instead of thinking to ourselves. And he suggested turning to Christ constantly for advice on what to do next
If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.
All during the day, in the chinks of time between the things we find ourselves obliged to do, there are the moments when our minds ask: ‘What next?’ In these chinks of time, ask Him: ‘Lord, think Thy thoughts in my mind. What is on Thy mind for me to do now?’ When we ask Christ, ‘What next?’ we tune in and give Him a chance to pour His ideas through our enkindled imagination. If we persist, it becomes a habit.
The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says “Amen” and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas.