It brings me great joy to know that Abba’s Heart: Finding Our Way Back to the Father’s Delight is now being published in the Malayalam language.
Abba’s Heart represents my life’s message: Finding the way back to our Heavenly Father’s heart. I wrote it together with my son Matt, whose voice is present within every page. Together we sought to portray God’s loving voice to you, the reader.
The word ‘Abba’ is an intimate, personal, respectful, and honouring way to say the word father. Jesus, in his agony in the garden, spoke to the Father from his depths saying: Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want (Mark 4:36).
I experience such delight when someone, after reading Abba’s Heart, shares of having discovered what was missing in their walk with Jesus – that they did not know his Father. Abba’s Heart displays how all three persons of the Trinity interact to reveal God’s love to us.
Many people recognise my name because of my best-selling book Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance. Its message helps people break free from lies that have gripped their hearts and fully receive the Heavenly Father’s blessing – a blessing originally lost in the Garden of Eden and restored to us through Jesus, God’s son. With newfound liberty, we encounter the Father’s heart and therein realise our true identity as children of God. That is the essence of what it means to be free.
Abba’s Heart invites the reader to ongoing conversion and freedom. Jesus promised to make the Father known to us when he prayed: Righteous Father… I will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them (John 17:25-26).
It is so important that we believe and say ‘yes’ to this promise to know the heart of God, seeing him as our Abba.
Along with the promise to make his Father known, Jesus also promised to bring good from evil. We are called to be overcomers in all circumstances. An overcomer perseveres in faith to discover more profoundly his place as a beloved child of the Father. But perhaps the idea of being an overcomer could feel contradictory and confusing.
Jesus’ disciples felt confused when he shared in John 14 that he was going to the Father’s house to prepare a place for them. They could not grasp what he was saying. The Apostle Philip cried out, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied (John 14:8). These heartfelt words speak for all of us and Jesus loves to answer that prayer – he loves to show us his Father.
Allow me to share with you some significant moments in my personal pilgrimage towards knowing the Father’s heart.
My journey home to the Father began through a life-changing encounter with the Holy Spirit. This led me to confess Jesus as Lord and a promise to follow him as his disciple. I experienced the joy of the Lord’s presence, but within a year began to struggle. I knew something was missing and felt alone and distant from the Lord.
At that time, a priest was visiting the place I was staying. He spoke often about God the Father. I had never related to God as father, but only spoke of God in the context of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. God used this priest’s words to expose my heart and I realised that I did not know the Heavenly Father.
I received prayer ministry from my cousin – a priest – and therein drew parallels between my distance from the Father above and my earthly father. I forgave my father, who had died several years earlier, mainly for his failure to meet my boyhood needs. I released any unrighteous judgments made towards my dad and in those healing moments encountered God as my heavenly Father.
A whole new journey began, which included times of struggle, moments of tears, and periods of deeper revelation. This all was part of learning to trust in my heavenly Father’s love.
When my eldest son was born, I experienced further change. Now a father myself, I wanted to do a good job. I expressed to others that being a good father would come through being a good son to my heavenly Father. I grew both in sonship and in earthly fatherhood and my awareness of our perfect, loving and everlasting Father deepened.
In time, I began taking short term missions trips to countries that recently had escaped communism. I learned how life under communism destroyed the family and the father’s role in particular, hearing stories of abandonment, alcoholism and all forms of abuse. One young woman, after describing the beatings said, ‘Well, that is just what fathers do.’ Another told me how her father tried to poison her. This was all shocking and I realised how destructive original sin is to fatherhood. I also realised that my own story was not unique.
Since then, I have listened to many thousands of stories and I know the horrors shared above are not limited to those countries. So many of Jesus’ followers do not know Abba’s heart and the need to discover the Father’s delight is universal.
Each individual has a story of how true fatherhood has been obscured or misrepresented. We can be left tempted to perceive God as a judge or master. As a judge, waiting for us to do something wrong so he can punish us. Or as a master, with us as slaves waiting to be told what to do, expecting we will not like what he commands thus making surrender and trust difficult.
St John Paul II put it this way in his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, ‘Original sin attempts to abolish fatherhood, destroying its rays which permeate the created world, placing in doubt the truth about God who is Love and leaving man only with a sense of the master-slave relationship.’
When we do not experience protection, presence, love, and warmth from our earthly fathers we find it hard to cooperate as God’s grace invites us to receive the embrace of our heavenly Father.
Dear reader, do you desire to know the Father’s love in a deeper way? Can you recognise in your story how the Lord is leading you towards the freedom of knowing Father’s love?
As you consider reading Abba’s Heart, I offer four suggestions towards deepening your relationship with the Father.
First, stay close to Jesus. He has and continues to make the Father known. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known (John 1:18).
The original Greek of that passage translates: He was in the bosom of the father. That is really close. I cannot imagine better human words to describe the intimate connection between the Father and the Son.
As we press towards Jesus, we are drawn into his communion with the Father. Pope Benedict XVI said that we cannot truly understand Jesus apart from this communion, ‘… Jesus in light of his communion with the Father, which is the true centre of his personality; without it, we cannot understand him at all, and it is from this centre that he makes himself present to us still today’ (Jesus of Nazareth).
Second, pray like the Apostle Philip, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Ask Jesus to reveal his Father to you and remove the lies that flow from original sin, obscuring your view and true knowledge of God.
Third, invite the Holy Spirit to release within you the cry of the spirit. Let the Holy Spirit give expression to deep intimacy with Our Father. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ (Galatians 4:6).
Fourth, slowly read the story of the Father’s love. The parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 is Jesus’ most revealing account of the Heavenly Father’s love.
As you read, contemplate this earthly father’s broken heart. To one son he gave half of everything; to the other he said: Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours (Luke 15:31). Both sons rejected and abandoned their father.
God gave everything when he gave us his beloved Son, whom we refused and crucified. Yet our Father remains constant. As in the story of the prodigal, our Father waits, he runs, he embraces, he kisses, he forgives, he restores, and he celebrates. Can you grasp these words and receive them for yourself?
The prodigal’s father begs for the older son not to withhold his heart and to come to the celebration. Can you sense the Heavenly Father pleading with you to return to his delight?
It is my hope and prayer that each of us will surrender to Abba, our loving Father, and experience his joyful, welcoming embrace.
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About Neal Lozano
Neal Lozano is an author and founder of the Heart of the Father Ministries that brings the message of Unbound to the world. A committed Roman Catholic, Neal has over 50 years’ experience in bringing people to freedom in Jesus. He has written 8 books including the life-changing book Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance, which has now been translated into 20 languages. ‘His passion is that every child of God would find someone equipped to accompany them in their pursuit of freedom from the damage of past wounds and all the works of the devil. Neal holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Education from Villanova University. He taught high school religion, and then founded a Christian community. Neal went on to lead short-term mission trips, an outreach to university students, and city-wide gatherings of Christians in the Philadelphia region. When he isn’t traveling, teaching, or ministering, Neal, along with his wife, Janet, loves to spend time with his four sons, their wives, and their children.’
Living Free in Our Abba’s Heart
Kairos Global speaks with Jose Jacob, a Jesus Youth elder who translated Neal Lozano’s book, Abba’s Heart to Malayalam.
Jose, please tell us about yourself.
My wife is Mini Jos. We are both retired from government service. We are based in Kottayam, Kerala. We have four adult children and a grandchild so far.
Participating in a charismatic renewal retreat many years ago, was the turning point in my life. On a personal level, it helped me realise I had a reason to live. It was an initiation to recognising my identity and life’s mission. Thankfully, keeping the constants, attending prayer meetings, fellowship groups, youth service team, monthly gatherings of the regional First Line group, involvement in the preparation for Jesus Youth ’85 conference … JY household gathering, and the latest Jesus Youth National conference JaaGo, in October 2023, were all steps along with many in the life long journey of the Jesus Youth movement.
How did you encounter the Unbound ministry?
The Catholic charismatic renewal retreats undoubtedly includes in their purview God’s love, on-going conversion, the lordship of Jesus, the gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit, etc. The Jesus Youth movement strives to follow Jesus closely, with the unique lifestyle of the Master. But, my feeling is that the first person of the Holy Trinity remains, slightly, in the background!
A few years ago, we got the Malayalam version of the book Unbound by Neal Lozano. By the grace of God, I was already aware of the Unbound deliverance ministry through a Jesus Youth programme.
The book remained unread till 2023 when we attended a conference and received the Unbound prayer service. Thank God, for it helped me get rid of certain unnoticed and unattended bondages, mental as well spiritual. Life in the freedom of Christ is amazing. While charismatic renewal retreats undoubtedly helped in healing of unhealthy memories, something remained hidden. And that kept me from truly enjoying freedom and its fruits.
The Unbound ministry is the need of the hour, especially in the context of so many people remaining bound by forces they are unable to identify. This ministry, is approachable and easily accessible to anyone with an open heart. The keys can be used personally with ease, just like opening and closing the door of one’s house. We all need other’s help to lead a Christian life. As our Lord has entrusted his own people to do the task of breaking the chains and redeeming us from the evil one, this ministry reaches out to thousands bearing lasting fruit.
Though every baptised Christian is called to evangelise, heal the sick, set the captives free and deliver people from the grip of the evil one, it is to be ascertained to what extent this deliverance is happening in the Universal Church especially among ordinary believers. The charismatic renewal retreats ensure that we become fully aware of God’s love and the ever present helper, the Holy Spirit and his manifestation through the charisms and fruits. We accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour. However, the Heavenly Father’s place in the day to day life of the Christian seems to lack prominence, but for invoking him through the Lord’s Prayer.
The Unbound ministry’s special focus on the Heavenly Father and his blessings is remarkable, while I live as his son in his Kingdom on earth.
You have translated several books into Malayalam. Please can you tell us how you became involved in this ministry?
Many years ago, I received a handwritten copy of the prayer book, New Evangelisation Prayers by Fr Tom Forrest CSSR. Those prayers became a regular part of my spiritual life and it occurred to me that a Malayalam version of this book would bring a lot of good to those Malayalees who wished to pray for evangelisation. I went ahead and translated this book into Malayalam. After translating it, I happened to meet Eddy (Dr Edward Edezhath). He was really surprised to hear about the translation, and gave me a copy of the original title published outside of India. He took the initiative and did all what was necessary for its publication. In 1992, Emmaus Publications – the coordinating centre of the Kerala Catholic charismatic renewal services – published 10,000 copies (a very large number at the time!) of the translated version. Later Eddy gave me two books by Brother Roger of Taize for translation, in connection with a Taize prayer conference in Kerala. This was followed by a few more books, suggested by my spiritual director Fr Abraham Pallivathukkal SJ, and Manoj Sunny. Neal Lozano’s Abba’s Heart is latest one.
Please tell us more about Neal Lozano’s Abba’s Heart.
Jesus taught only one prayer, and that too on request from his disciples. That prayer, the sum and substance of everything Christian, has only seven lines. We, for convenience’s sake, divide it into two parts whilst reciting it in one breath. The only consolation, we pray it fully in the liturgy of the Holy Mass, repeatedly in certain rites.
My prayer life was missing something; I couldn’t and didn’t ask God many things, probably due to the lack of that desired intimate relationship with the Father. But I was quite convinced that he knew all my needs since he gave me everything I needed at the most appropriate time, right up to the present moment. I am his beloved son and he must be in my life as the affectionate Father here on earth too. So, in return, what was I supposed to do? Go on thanking him for who I am and for what I’ve been given. An attitude of gratitude – that is what He longs to see in me. Abba’s Heart reinforced and reiterated the need for this relationship, living in the Father’s house.
If my Christian journey finds a resting place only in Jesus, that won’t be pleasing even to Jesus for he has said that eternal life is knowing Him and the One (the Father) who sent Him. Neal Lozano portrays the relationship of the father with his two sons in the parable of the prodigal son. ‘Love is patient,’ so is this father who was rejected by both his sons. This parable, which describes the Father’s love for each one of us, is our own story and Neal has so profoundly explained it that it finds abode in the reader’s heart.
What moved you to translate Abba’s Heart?
Last year, my wife and I attended an Unbound conference and received a prayer session. Brother Tom Varkey, who prayed over us, told me about Neal Lozano’s Abba’s Heart. While reading the book, a thought crossed my mind – Malayali believers should not be denied the privilege of returning home to the Father. Thoughts about Abba, the Heavenly Father had been accompanying me for the past several years. The need for coming to and staying closer to our Lord Jesus, his Father and our Father was ever-growing. And this seemed to be the golden opportunity to push hard to ensure that an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father was established.
Neal Lozano has astoundingly portrayed the Heavenly Father’s heart that longs for each and every child. It’s a homecoming experience, fulfilling the dream of Jesus that his followers reach the Father’s house for which he came to prepare us. Neal was very generous to grant me permission to translate the book into Malayalam, and for its publication on very gracious terms. His concern seems only that each one of us find our place in the Father’s heart.
How can the Unbound ministry help today’s youth?
Youth in general – and across all times – love to be free and independent. They have the ability to break free of the shackles and chains that they are aware of. But some of the serious bondages remain unknown, unnoticed and hidden. To obtain freedom from such mental and spiritual bondages and live in that freedom requires special assistance and appropriate guidance. Every young person carries with them the need and desire for liberation. Once the spirit is free, its effect will permeate the mind and undoubtedly the body also. Considering the captivity present day youth are experiencing, Unbound, as the name suggests is an assured remedy. Earlier the better, so that one can live in the freedom Jesus Christ promised, taking up the call to build the Kingdom of God among the youth.
Out of the books you have translated, which are there favourites? And why?
All the books I have translated are my favourites! Each of them became part of my life at decisive times, when I was trying to delve deeper into something, while I was attempting to define some situations, etc. Two books were suggested by Fr Abraham Pallivathukkal SJ, two by Eddy and two by Manoj Sunny.
Prayer is highly personal, even when the One to whom we all pray is Father to all. An old definition of prayer heard decades ago is still relevant, ‘Prayer is neither informing nor instructing God, but reporting for duty.’ At a time, when I was struggling ‘to pray’ my spiritual director, Fr Abraham Pallivathukkal SJ, gave me the book, Finding Your Hidden Treasure by Benignus O’Rourke. Encountering this book was a moment of great relief, one that answered my pretty old query. After reading it, I translated it into Malayalam and Palliachen, (Fr Abraham Pallivathukkal SJ) as we affectionately call him, helped with everything from finding a publisher to bearing the printing costs.
Finding Your Hidden Treasure was my favourite book, till Abba’s Heart was opened to me.
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