by Lorelei Low | Jul 3, 2018 | 5 Gospel Keys, Deliverance, Empowering and Freeing Choices, Faith and Repentance, Forgiving and Forgiveness, Freedom, Healing, Holy Spirit, Individual Prayer Ministry, Unbound
After more than 50 Unbound sessions, our 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ team has seen the Lord do amazing healing and deliverance. Yet not everyone who comes for Unbound ministry gets set free, as they were hoping, or they don’t Stay Free, doing what’s needed to hold onto their freedom. Prayer, preparation, and personal responsibility help first or second-time Unbound recipients get the best possible results.
What can you hope for with Unbound ministry? The majority of those we’ve prayed with have received freedom for which they’ve been very grateful, if not astounded! We’ve seen healing physically, mentally, and emotionally, as well as spiritually. Relationships have improved. Self-loathing and self-criticism have been curtailed. Depression and anxiety have yielded to peace and trust. Shame and guilt have been overcome! Always, a lot of forgiveness happens, which can be miraculous even if that were the only outcome! On the other hand, we’ve shared some disappointment when forgiveness and relief are the “only” fruits of a ministry session. So we’ve thought about what makes the difference.
I’ve needed more than one ministry session myself. The first time I experienced deliverance and freedom, I’d prepared my Need to Forgive List very thoroughly and I did receive an amazing feeling of freedom and healing of relationships. But I hadn’t yet heard of or read Unbound and there were important behaviors, attitudes, and past occult experiences that I didn’t know to bring to the session. A year later, after having studied the book and attended two Freedom in Christ Conferences, I was set free of deeper emotional pain (at a short session during a conference). The more I learn, the more often I use the 5 Keys on my own and turn to my teammates, too. Freedom is a process, and there is always more to receive—addressing new material that comes up with deeper reflection and/or sharing parts of our story that we hadn’t brought up before.
Our Unbound team rarely says No to a request for ministry, but we sometimes feel prompted to say Later. We review requests for ministry and pray to discern if the timing is right, and if there’s a good fit between the person and members of the team. At times the Holy Spirit alerts us that an individual’s unusual situation or experiences call for a prayer leader with expertise we don’t have. Scheduling is complex; our team members are volunteers with jobs and commitments that affect our availability, so appointment times and staffing are not conducive to scheduling exactly as some people request. We urge those seeking ministry to pray and trust that the Holy Spirit is at work in the intake process to influence the timing and the composition of the prayer team that will minister to you, often for reasons only God knows for sure. We trust that the Lord orchestrates it all.
Before you make a prayer request, ask the Lord if now is the time — if you’ll have time to prepare, who’s in your life to support you, and whether you’re ready to take personal responsibility, possibly give up some unhealthy choices, and follow through. Motivation is another factor: why do you want to make an appointment? Have you learned enough about Unbound to be making an informed request? Are you being drawn to it prayerfully?
If you’re looking for ongoing support from us because you don’t have Christian friends with whom you can share your faith and struggles, it’s probably not the time for Unbound in your life. Unbound teams are not in a position to offer ongoing support. Rachel Lozano explains that the enemy’s desire is to isolate people, so Unbound encourages everyone to first find healthy, loving Christian fellowship. We are not created to live alone but in relationship, and once we become free, we need relationship to stay free.
Abe Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” The proportion of prep time to ministry time is generally significantly higher in successful Unbound sessions!
Preparation begins with reading Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance by Neal Lozano, available at the St. Dominic’s Parish Office, at Heart of Father Ministries in book or MP3 form, and at online suppliers. Ideally, you’ll have attended a Freedom in Christ Conference or Live Free! or read the first half of Unbound even before requesting ministry, so you know about the Five Keys and how they work in a session.
Once you have an appointment, re-read the first seven chapters of Unbound prayerfully, marking up the book or taking notes. Notice what stories stand out to you, which you relate to, or the description of dark influences you’d previously thought were “just part of who I am” or that “sound like the way it was in my family.” Ask the Lord to give you personal insights. We provide Preparing for Ministry – Personal Reflections to guide you in preparing. If you’d like to go deeper, or if you’ve had a previous session and didn’t get the freedom you hoped for, we offer Deep Reflection Questions. Don’t leave your prep to a few days before your session. You’ll benefit from using these Reflection documents over the course of at least several days.
We know that it’s the Holy Spirit and the prayer recipient who actually do the work during ministry sessions. The prayer ministers are trained to come alongside and coach you through it, but God and you are the key players!
Your freedom depends on YOU — Freedom is God’s will for all His children; but God has laid out how to attain it, and it’s your choice as to whether you will do what it takes to Become Free, and then to Live Free and Stay Free. If you’ve taken on the identity as someone possessed or if you’re involved in the occult, you’ll need to be ready to let that go. You are NOT powerless over evil spirits, but if you believe you are, you will be. You may have been victimized, but you won’t stay a VICTIM if you’re willing during your session to renounce the victim spirit and take back the authority and power you’ve given away or had taken from you. You’ll need to be open to repent of your sin, to stop making excuses, and to stop blaming others. “For each will have to bear his own load” ~Galatians 6:5 (NIV).
The preparation process and the ministry itself help with all of this. But it’s very important for you to count on yourself. Prayer and diligent preparation, your words during the session, and your belief are the most important factors. We provide guidance, resources, experience, trained listening and coaching, prayer and love, but you are ultimately going to need to surrender to the Lord, trust the Lord, open yourself to the Lord, repent, forgive, and renounce, believing that the Lord will do for you what Jesus promised:
“Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing” — healing the sick, driving out demons, and setting free the oppressed —”and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” ~John 14:12.
After your session we’ll talk to you about how to win the continuing battle for your mind. Again, you’ll need to pray and to take responsibility, learning from a talk we recommend and applying the described techniques to Stay Free. This is why we sign our emails with the whole process: Become Free, Live Free, Stay Free, and then we hope you’ll also decide to give back by serving others, which we call Give Free!
by Lorelei Low | Jun 18, 2018 | Deliverance, Freedom, Healing, Holy Spirit, Transformational Breakthroughs, Unbound
I’d like to invite laity and clergy to read this post from Heart of the Father Ministries, which has trained our 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ team and spread the awesome ministry of Unbound across the states, provinces, and nations! Please check out this post and pray for the ministry!
http://www.heartofthefather.com/resources/blog/opportunities-for-new-growth
For an individual Unbound ministry session at St. Dominic’s, please visit our Unbound Ministry page to learn more, and submit your request for a private appointment.
by Lorelei Low | Feb 1, 2018 | Deliverance, Encouragement and Inspiration, Gratitude, Healing, Maintaining Your Freedom, Unbound
Look at the Instant Pot’s success!
Don’t we all love to get a glowing recommendation from someone affirming the good that our products or services have produced? While thanks are wonderful, positive word-of-mouth advertising shows the greatest appreciation and is the most effective marketing. Let’s talk up God, far more than everyone is talking up their Instant Pots!
Let’s do some spiritual witnessing!
A spiritual testimony is a personal declaration of what God has done for you. Gratitude with thanksgiving helps God raise other people’s interest level. It can be the doorway for bigger, better things for you and for those who hear your testimony.
When you receive Unbound ministry, you’re encouraged by Neal Lozano, Heart of the Father Ministries, and by our 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ team to write down what God did for you. It needn’t be a long essay fit for publication, though it could be! It may simply be responding to our request for an evaluation, and keeping a copy for yourself. It could be notes in your journal or in your computer or smartphone or in social media about what took place, how you felt before, during, right after, and/or upon later reflection. Whatever works for you! Having written down the important experiences is very strengthening, and helps as your memory fades. It can be especially strengthening to read what you wrote later, in a difficult time prior to your next breakthrough. (Yes, it’s common to have ups and downs in our spiritual lives, with multiple breakthroughs as we grow in holiness and intimacy with God. At times like that, looking back can uplift you.)
Questions to Ask in Coming Up with Your Testimony:
The following questions were written by Neal Lozano (in his Unbound Companion Guide) to guide you in preparing your testimony, but of course, you’re encouraged to personalize your testimony as you tell the story of God’s action in your life:
- What has the Lord done in my life through the UNBOUND message?
- What truths has the Lord revealed to me?
- What sins (or bad habits or addictions) have I overcome by God’s grace?
- What enemies or lies have I renounced that I now refuse to fellowship with?
- How has the Father revealed His love to me as His son or daughter?
- What blessing is He whispering to me right now?
You might also ask:
- How do I feel now that I have forgiven a person, an action, an omission, or hurtful words that wounded me?
- How do I feel as a result of telling my story and having it listened to with love and without judgment (if you experienced that, which is always the intention of UNBOUND ministry teams)?
- How do I see my UNBOUND experience affecting my life going forward? Has it already made a positive difference?
How Might I Share My Testimony?
- Send your testimony to the UNBOUND team and let them know whether it’s just for their edification or whether it might be shared (anonymously or otherwise) to help others — this can be done with an evaluation form, an email, by letter, or by recording (even on voicemail), or by taking a video of yourself speaking about your experience and sending it to the team who ministered to you.
- Allow the person doing a follow-up with you to take notes and share some of your story, after getting your approval.
- Share your testimony with others you know, perhaps in your family or among a small faith community — without going into too much detail, except perhaps to a few very well trusted believers or a spiritual director or confessor.
Tips for a Moving Testimony
First, your testimony should be personal.
- You could share what the Lord has revealed to you about lies you believed and the truth the Lord has imparted to you.
- You could share what sins you’ve overcome by His grace, or whom the Lord has led you to forgive (maybe even for what).
Second, it helps most if your testimony is specific and concrete.
- If you’re willing to share some details of previous bondage and specifically how the Lord has released you, others will be able to relate to your story and your words will bear good fruit for the Lord.
Do It, Because Jesus Asks Those He Heals to Witness to Others!
in Mark 5:1-20, Jesus cast out the demon called “Legion,” which had possessed a chained, cave-dwelling, screaming man in Gerasenes. At the demon’s request, Jesus sent the evil spirit into a herd of swine, which then ran off the cliff into the sea. The healed and now free man wanted to follow Jesus as he traveled around preaching, healing, and delivering others from evil. But Jesus wouldn’t let the man join him, because Jesus had greater work for the man to do than just being his follower. He said, “Go home to your family and announce to them all the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Jesus wants us to tell our story and pass on the miracles and healings that transform our lives!
by Lorelei Low | Jan 18, 2017 | Freedom, Healing, Overcoming Obstacles, Spiritual Direction, Transformational Breakthroughs, Unbound
Free live workshops help God’s people learn how to unlock more peace, joy, healing, understanding, and freedom will be presented twice next week! In a nutshell, here’s what we’ll explore:
- Ever wondered HOW to truly forgive situations where you were hurt and still have lingering bitterness, anger, or grief?
- Do you need help to let go of past wrongs?
- Would you like to learn a valuable process for purifying your heart?
- Do you understand what this means? “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” ~Mt. 5:8.
- Can you identify the numerous “on earth” benefits of forgiveness besides the ultimate benefit of getting into heaven
The 5 Keys to Freedom in Christ are based on Neal Lozano’s Unbound book, the Our Father, and Jesus’ specific teachings. The discussion of why it’s hard to forgive also draws on psychology!
I’ve taught much of this before to parents of young children at 40-minute talk at St. Dominic’s Practical Faith that happens during Children’s Faith Formation on Sunday mornings. But I expanded a shorter PowerPoint presentation into a 90-minute workshop that includes prayer, a creative exercise to help with insights, practical suggestions for putting faith into action, as well as the Scripturally-based PowerPoint presentation. Please pray for this ministry, for those called to attend workshops, to pray for others, and to receive prayer ministry.
In the spirit of Oneness, the parish where I gave the “Forgiveness is Your Key to Healing and Freedom!” talks, Mary Star of the Sea, shares our charming little church building with other denominations, who call it Shepherd of the Sea. It’s nestled in the redwoods with a spectacular setting where you can see the waves through the windows behind the altar! We embraced the unity of all members of the Body of Christ and cordially invited those of all Christian denominations to join us!
5 Keys to Freedom in Christ prayer sessions are offered free, with a requested from-the-heart donation to the church or Heart of the Father Ministries only if you feel afterward that the Lord has done a good work in you!
I’ve personally experienced being set free right after forgiving those I perceived to have trespassed against me (including forgiving myself.) That’s given me a passion to minister using the process and to teach others the applicable divine promises! I present these workshops in partnership with the Holy Spirit as I draw on my experiences as a Catholic spiritual director, a trained UNBOUND team and prayer leader, and as author of Freedom from Hurts, Fears, and Unhealthy Habits: 5 Keys to a Free, Peaceful Life with More Creative Energy, which tells my story of forgiveness and freedom and also sets forth the 5 Keys in the context of the Lord’s Prayer.
For more information about booking me to make a presentation or to learn more about our prayer ministry, please browse our 5keystofreedom website.
by Lorelei Low | Jan 23, 2016 | 5 Gospel Keys, Freedom, Healing, Individual Prayer Ministry, Lies, Life Stories, Mindset, Overcoming Obstacles, Renunciation
Most women lie to themselves, and that awful habit is a stoppable form of self-imprisonment!
They often tell themselves one or more of these (or other) unhealthy thoughts:
- I’m not good enough
- I’ll never amount to anything
- I don’t belong or I don’t fit in
- Nobody cares about me
- I have to do it right or be right
- I’m not seen or heard unless I mess up
- Something’s wrong with me or I’m not normal
- I’m a bad mother/grandmother/daughter/spouse/partner/sister
- What I want doesn’t matter
- I can’t do anything about it
- I have to do everything myself
- God won’t help me or God’s getting back at me
Where do these lies come from?
Typically, false beliefs have their roots in some incident or dynamic that goes way back, perhaps to childhood.
Take my 6th grade report card story, for example. As my fellow 12-year-old classmates and I put on coats to go home one report card day, we showed each other our grades–As, Bs, Cs, and Ds in the main subjects; V for Very Good, S for Satisfactory, or N for Needs Improvement in the behavior category.
Looking at my report card, classmates exclaimed, “Wow, you’re gonna clean up! Do your parents give you a quarter for every A?” I had straight As, and it was in the 60s.
“No,” I said, “I’m going to be in big trouble.”
Sure enough, that night my parents grounded me for weeks, because I got an N in Paying Attention. That day reinforced my belief that nothing I did was good enough, a LIE that kept me stuck in crippling perfectionism for decades. (Of course, the irony is that my paying-attention skills did need improvement — not so much to understand the subject lessons, but simply to be a better listener.)*
Awareness, Improvement, Steps to Overcome, and then Freedom
I became aware of the compulsiveness of my perfectionism through personality assessments, by loved ones pointing it out, and from my spiritual directors. When I was in Spiritual Direction School, I had some Aha’s and started lightening up a bit. In Kaizen-Muse™ Creativity Coaching training, while I was writing my first book, my perfectionism came up again. I began consciously lowering my expectations of myself and realizing what a burden and barrier perfectionism had become. Shortly thereafter, in doing Heart Work and Spiritual Cleansing with Convergence™ and UNBOUND ministries, I renounced and became (mostly) free of the lies that I’m not good enough and that I always have to do things right or be right!
If I were still trapped in perfectionism, I wouldn’t dare to express concepts like this on a blog or to teach the concepts I share in my teleclasses. I’d be waiting until I’d read all I could on each subject and had “perfect” posts and teaching outlines—a day that would never arrive. Instead, I accept that only God is perfect, and that in yielding to the Holy Spirit as I write, teach, or make quilts, God can work through me. My weakness becomes an instrument for God’s grace to flow through. Daring to rely on this is what I call Holy Boldness. And I believe that every day we can all sow Holy Boldness into the art of life, however you interpret that!
Being free of those lies has opened up so much good, and so much creativity, that I can’t wait to help others get freed of their lies, too—whatever form those lies take!
The good news is that, whatever your habitual lies are, they don’t need to plague you any longer! You can break out of the prison of those false beliefs. You CAN get past the lies, forgive whatever hurt or pain that may have led to them, and put on a mindset of new beliefs to replace those lies!
Where You Can Get Help
Read Unbound by Neal Lozano, the book that came out of 30 years of experience in using the 5 Keys approach to healing and deliverance. After you’ve read the book and reflected upon your life’s stories and who or what still breeds hurt, resentment, bitterness, ill will, etc., set up an appointment to receive individual Unbound prayer ministry. You’ll typically meet for 60 to 90 minutes with a prayer leader and an intercessor who will pray with you, listen to your story non-judgmentally, confidentially, and with an ear to you and to the Holy Spirit, so they can guide you through the 3 Keys and help you unlock the door to healing and freedom in Christ. If you’re in Northern California, please visit our ministry page and complete a request form.
Note to Mom:
*My mom reads my newsletter, so to her I say: “Hey, Mom, you know I’ve long ago forgiven everyone involved in that little story, and I ask you to forgive me for telling it again! In fact, I’m grateful it happened, because it demonstrates how seemingly minor and inadvertent things can have unintended consequences and can become some of our best teachers. You’ve also been one of my best teachers! I love you!”
