Midnight has a reputation in Scripture. It is the hour when Paul and Silas sang in a prison, when the psalmist rose to give thanks, and when Jesus withdrew to pray while the world slept. Many believers in Nigeria and beyond still set aside the late hours for prayer, and few voices are more associated with that practice than Pastor Lazarus Muoka.
This article introduces the preacher, describes his message “Go and Loose Them,” and then offers a full sermon study on a closely related passage, with teaching on prayer, faith, holiness and spiritual growth that you can use this week.
Who Is Pastor Lazarus Muoka?
Lazarus Muoka is a Nigerian pastor, minister and author who is the founder and General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement. He was born into a Catholic family in Imo State. The ministry was founded on December 23, 2002, with its first location in the Ilasamaja area of Lagos, and its stated mission is to win billions of souls for God. Pastor Muoka was formerly a member of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement before he left to focus on the Lord’s Chosen. wikipedialegit
In 2024, the church, popularly called Chosen, marked 22 years with a thanksgiving service at its headquarters in Ijesha, Lagos, where Pastor Muoka spoke about God’s faithfulness through the years. The church is known for its prayer culture, its mass gatherings and its emphasis on deliverance and revival. Whatever one’s view of the movement, its prayer sessions draw large audiences, and that is the context of the message below. legit
About the Message “Go and Loose Them”
The video, titled “Pastor Lazarus Muoka Midnight Prayers | Go and Loose Them,” runs for about 42 minutes and was published on October 13, 2026. It is a prayer session, not a lecture. The title borrows a phrase that appears in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where two disciples are sent to find a tied colt and untie it for the Master.
That phrase is a good doorway into the topic of prayer. It tells us that freedom is something Jesus commands, that it often happens through obedient people, and that it has a purpose. The sermon study below takes the phrase from Matthew 21 and walks through what it teaches about prayer, faith, holiness and growth.
Watch the full message below, then read the study that follows.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmwL1YMwTzI)
Sermon Study: Go and Loose Them
Main text: Matthew 21:1-11
Supporting texts: Mark 11:1-7, Luke 19:29-35, Luke 13:10-17, John 11:38-44, Isaiah 58:6, Matthew 18:18-19, Acts 12:1-11, Acts 16:22-26, Psalm 119:62, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16, 2 Timothy 2:21, Galatians 5:1, John 8:36, 2 Peter 3:18
Note: This is an original sermon written around the passage and theme above. It is not a transcript of Pastor Lazarus Muoka’s words.
Introduction: The Knot Behind the Door
Picture two men walking into a village on an errand they do not fully understand. Their Teacher has given them a strange instruction. “Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.”
Read that again slowly. Jesus describes something He has not seen with human eyes. He names the location, the condition and even the owner’s likely reaction. The animals are tied. Someone must walk up, undo the knot and lead them away. And the reason given is one sentence long: the Lord has need of them.
That small scene contains a whole theology of prayer. It tells us that bondage is real, that the Master knows exactly where each person is tied, that deliverance often comes through obedient hands, and that freedom is never an end in itself. People are loosed so that they can be used.
If you have ever felt stuck, held back or tied to a place you did not choose, this passage speaks to you. If you have ever prayed late into the night and wondered whether anyone was listening, this passage speaks to you as well. We will take it one step at a time.
Point One: Tied Things Are Everywhere
Mark’s account adds a detail that Matthew omits. He says the colt was found “tied by the door without in a place where two ways met.” A place where two roads cross is a place of constant traffic. Everyone passes by, and few stop to ask why a young animal is standing in the same spot.
Many people are like that colt. They live in busy places and are surrounded by others, yet they remain tied. Their bondage is not always dramatic. It may be an old fear that stops them from stepping out. It may be a habit they have promised to break a hundred times. It may be a family pattern of anger, poverty or failure that has been repeated for generations. It may be unforgiveness that has been held so long it feels like part of the personality.
The Bible speaks plainly about bondage. In Luke 13, a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years comes into the synagogue. Jesus calls her and says, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” When the ruler of the synagogue objects, Jesus replies that she is a daughter of Abraham “whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years.” Notice the word bound. Notice also the length of time. Some chains are old.
We should be honest about two things. First, not every difficulty is spiritual warfare. Sometimes the problem is a bad decision, a lack of discipline, an unhealed wound or a medical condition that needs a doctor. A wise believer prays and also seeks counsel, treatment and practical help. Second, some things really are spiritual, and to dismiss that possibility is to ignore a large part of what Jesus did in His earthly ministry. He healed the sick and also set captives free.
The first step toward liberty is acknowledging that you are tied. The colt did not free itself. A person who insists that everything is fine will never ask for help.
Application: Write down, in plain words, one area where you feel tied. Do not dress it up. Naming it is the beginning of prayer.
Point Two: The Master Knows Your Address
The detail that should comfort us is the precision of Jesus’ instruction. “Go into the village over against you.” He knows which village. He knows which door. He knows that a colt is there, that the colt has never been ridden, and that the owners will release it when they hear the right words.
God is not guessing about your situation. Psalm 139 says that the Lord knows our sitting and our rising, understands our thoughts from afar and is acquainted with all our ways. There is no part of your story that He has not seen. There is no village so small, no corner so hidden and no knot so complicated that He does not know where it is.
This matters for prayer because many people pray as though they have to inform God of a problem He has overlooked. They rehearse the details, raise their voices and strain to persuade. But the Master is the one who started the whole errand. He has already located the colt. Our prayer is not an effort to get His attention. It is a response to His initiative.
That changes the tone of prayer from panic to partnership. When you pray in the confidence that the Lord already sees, you can pray with calm. You can wait. You can listen. You can also be specific, because specificity is a form of trust. Jesus told His disciples exactly where to look. You can tell Him exactly where it hurts.
There is also a note of timing. Jesus said, “Straightway ye shall find.” The word straightway suggests that the answer was close at hand. Some of us are praying for something that is already waiting a few steps away. It is not too late, and it is not too far.
Application: Instead of presenting your need as news, begin your next prayer by thanking God that He already knows. Then walk through the details slowly, as a child talking to a father who is listening.
Point Three: Loosing Is a Commissioned Act
Look at the verbs. “Go.” “Loose.” “Bring.” These are words of action. Jesus did not say, “Sit in the house and wish the colt were free.” He sent two people. Obedience was part of the miracle.
This is a vital correction for those who imagine that prayer is only a mental or emotional exercise. Prayer in the Bible is often an act of authority and obedience. In Matthew 18:18, Jesus told His disciples, “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then He added a promise about agreement: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
Notice that this authority is borrowed. The disciples did not own the colt. They did not even know the people who did. They acted on the word of the Master. That is the secret of healthy spiritual authority. It is never self-promotion or showmanship. It is obedience to a specific word from Jesus. A believer who prays by that pattern is not trying to manipulate God. He is agreeing with what God has already said.
We should also recognise that this is a shared work. Two disciples went, not one. Jesus often sent people in pairs. The loosing of bondage in many lives happens in community: a friend prays, a pastor counsels, a parent intercedes, a church stands in the gap. If you are carrying a chain alone, consider that you may be meant to ask for help. And if you are free, consider whom you might be sent to loose.
At the same time, we must be careful not to treat prayer as a formula. The disciples did not chant a phrase and wait for magic. They obeyed an instruction and trusted the One who gave it. Prayer that is detached from the will of God becomes empty noise. The test is always whether it lines up with Scripture and with the character of Christ.
Application: Ask the Lord whether there is someone He wants you to help set free through prayer, encouragement or practical support. Take one concrete step toward that person this week.
Point Four: The Power of the Midnight Hour
Acts 16 gives us one of the most striking prayer scenes in the Bible. Paul and Silas have been beaten and thrown into the inner prison, with their feet in stocks. Verse 25 says, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Then comes the sentence that has encouraged believers for two thousand years: “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”
Notice a few things. They prayed at midnight, the darkest hour. They prayed while in pain. They prayed in company. And they praised. The deliverance did not come first. The worship came first, and the shaking followed.
The Bible mentions midnight prayer elsewhere. Psalm 119:62 says, “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Jesus Himself rose a great while before day to pray in a solitary place, according to Mark 1:35, and spent a whole night in prayer before choosing the twelve apostles, according to Luke 6:12. There is a pattern of believers using the quiet hours for deeper communion with God.
Why does this matter? Because the night is when distractions fall away. The phone is silent, the street is quiet, the children are asleep, and the heart has fewer places to hide. Many people find that prayer at that hour is more honest and more focused. It is not that God is more available at midnight, but that we are.
Acts 12 shows the same thing from the church’s perspective. Peter was in prison, chained between two soldiers, with Herod planning to bring him out for trial. The Bible says that “prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” That night, an angel appeared, the chains fell off, the iron gate opened by itself and Peter walked free. The church had been praying all night, and when Peter knocked at the door, they could hardly believe it.
A caution is in order. Midnight prayer is not a requirement for salvation, nor is it a guarantee of breakthrough. Some people have demanding schedules, health limits or young children that make all-night vigils unwise. God hears the prayer of a tired parent at noon just as clearly as the prayer of a vigil-keeper at midnight. The point is consistency and sincerity, not the clock. But for those who are able and led to do so, the discipline of setting apart focused hours for prayer has a long and honourable history.
Application: Choose a regular time that fits your life, whether early morning, late evening or midnight, and protect it for prayer. Begin with thirty minutes. Include praise before petition, as Paul and Silas did.
Point Five: Chains of the Heart and Grave Clothes of the Soul
Isaiah 58:6 describes the kind of fast that God chooses: “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke.” The verbs are very close to what Jesus told the disciples: loose, undo, let go, break.
Notice that this list includes both spiritual and practical liberation. It speaks of feeding the hungry, housing the poor and clothing the naked. Genuine prayer leads to genuine compassion. A believer who prays for the oppressed but ignores the neighbour in need has misunderstood the fast.
Now turn to John 11, where Lazarus has been dead for four days. Jesus stands at the tomb and calls, “Lazarus, come forth.” The dead man comes out, still wrapped in grave clothes. Then Jesus says to those standing by, “Loose him, and let him go.”
This scene is a gift to anyone who has been spiritually revived but still feels bound. Lazarus was alive, but he was wrapped. He could not walk freely until someone removed the cloths. In the same way, a person can be truly born again and still carry habits, fears and memories that cling like old wrappings. The resurrection life has begun, but the grave clothes need to come off.
Who removes them? Notice that Jesus gave the task to the bystanders. He had done the miracle of raising the dead. He asked others to help with the unwrapping. This is a picture of the church. Believers are meant to help one another get free through teaching, counsel, accountability, prayer and patience.
What are your grave clothes? They may be the language you used to speak, the shame you absorbed, the way you handle money, the reactions you default to under stress. They are not signs that you are not alive. They are signs that you are still in the process of being loosed.
Be gentle with yourself and with others in this process. Some wrappings come off quickly, and some take years. The question is not whether you are perfect but whether you are cooperating with the One who is unwrapping you.
Application: Identify one grave cloth you want to be rid of this season. Tell a trusted believer about it and ask for prayer and accountability. Bondage thrives in secrecy, and freedom grows in the light.
Point Six: Loosed for the Master’s Use
Return to the key sentence in Matthew 21:3. “The Lord hath need of them.” These words reveal the purpose of the whole errand. The colt was not untied for its own comfort. It was loosed because Jesus intended to ride into Jerusalem on it.
This is a profound reorientation for how we think about deliverance. Many of us pray for freedom so that we can feel better, escape discomfort or achieve our own ambitions. Those motives are understandable. But the Bible’s picture is larger. We are set free to be of service to the King.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:21 that if a person purges himself from dishonourable things, “he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” Notice the three phrases: sanctified, meet for the master’s use, prepared. Cleansing leads to usefulness.
Galatians 5:1 gives the complementary command: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Liberty is a gift, but it also requires guarding. A colt that has been loosed and then wanders back to the same post has missed the point.
Think about what the Lord wants to do with you once you are free. He may want to use you in your family, your workplace, your church or your community. He may want to use your testimony. He may want to carry His presence through your ordinary life into places that would never otherwise hear of Him. The animal in this story carried the King into the city. Think of that as a picture of what a believer does every day: carry Christ into spaces where He is needed.
It is a humbling image. The colt did nothing impressive. It simply allowed itself to be led and ridden. The glory belonged to the One on its back. In the same way, the best use of our lives is to be a faithful carrier of Christ, not the centre of attention.
Application: Ask the Lord, “What do You need me to carry?” Be ready for an ordinary answer: a conversation, a gift of time, a courageous apology, a ministry role. Obey what He shows you.
Point Seven: A Colt Set Apart, and the Call to Holiness
Mark 11:2 and Luke 19:30 both mention something Matthew does not: the colt was one “whereon yet never man sat.” It had never been ridden. It was unused, untouched, reserved. In the Old Testament, animals set aside for sacred purposes were often ones that had not been put to common use. The detail signals that this colt was being devoted to a holy task.
This opens the door to a theme that cannot be skipped in any honest teaching on prayer: holiness. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” First Peter 1:15-16 says, “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Holiness is not mere rule-keeping. It means being set apart for God, whole and undivided. It begins with a clean conscience, which we receive through forgiveness, and it grows through a life of obedience. Where holiness is neglected, prayer becomes thin. The psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” That is not to say that God only hears perfect people. If that were true, no one would be heard. It is to say that cherished, unconfessed sin creates a barrier that honest confession can remove.
So how do we pursue holiness in practical terms? We confess sin quickly and specifically, trusting the promise of 1 John 1:9. We make restitution where we have wronged others. We remove from our lives the things that repeatedly cause us to fall, whether that is a place, a screen, a conversation or a company. We feed on the word of God, which cleanses the way of a young person according to Psalm 119:9. We stay accountable to mature believers. And we ask the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in us.
Holiness also has a joyful side that is easy to miss. The colt was not diminished by being set apart. It was honoured. It carried the King through the gates to the shouts of the crowd. Holiness is not about losing life but about finding the life we were created for.
Application: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you one thing that is dulling your prayer life. Confess it, turn from it and replace it with something that draws you closer to God.
Point Eight: Faith That Obeys Without Arguing
The disciples did not ask for details. They did not say, “Lord, who owns the colt? What if they refuse? What if we are accused of theft?” Matthew simply records that “the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them.” The next verse says they brought the animals.
That short report tells us something about the quality of their faith. It was simple, active and obedient. They trusted that the One who gave the command also controlled the outcome.
Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Two things are required: believing that God exists, and believing that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith is not wishful thinking. It is confidence in the character of God.
How does such faith grow? Romans 10:17 gives the answer: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The more we feed on Scripture, the more we know who God is and what He has promised, and the more naturally we trust Him. Faith is not manufactured by shouting or straining. It is received as we hear.
Jesus gave an astonishing promise about prayer in Mark 11:24: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” This verse has been abused and misunderstood. It does not mean that any wish we speak will be granted. It must be read alongside the rest of Scripture, which teaches that we ask according to God’s will, in the name of Jesus, from a heart that is right with Him. But it does mean that God wants us to pray with real expectation. A half-hearted prayer expecting nothing receives nothing.
Notice also that the disciples did something about their faith. Faith that stays in the head is incomplete. James says that faith without works is dead. Abraham believed God and set out. Noah believed God and built. The disciples believed Jesus and went to the village. Real faith always moves.
Application: Identify one instruction from Scripture or from the Holy Spirit that you have been delaying. Obey it this week without waiting for every question to be answered.
Point Nine: Garments on the Road and Praise in the Streets
When the disciples brought the colt, they laid their garments on it, and Jesus sat on them. Then a great multitude spread their garments in the way, and others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road. The crowds went before and followed after, crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
Garments were costly, practical possessions. To spread a cloak on the road was to say, “Walk over what I have. You are worth more than my comfort.” It was an act of surrender and honour.
There is a lesson here about what comes after deliverance. Once the colt was loosed, the whole scene turned into worship. People offered what they had. Praise filled the streets. This is what freedom is supposed to produce: gratitude, devotion and a public declaration of who Jesus is.
Many of us pray for freedom but forget to praise when it comes. We hurry on to the next request, forgetting to say thank you. Yet the Bible repeatedly shows that praise is both the response to deliverance and a weapon in the fight. In Acts 16, praise preceded the earthquake. In Psalm 22:3, God is described as inhabiting the praises of His people.
There is also a message about community. The road to Jerusalem was lined with people. Worship is meant to be shared. When one person is set free, the whole community rejoices. If you have been loosed, tell your story. Your testimony may encourage another colt that is still tied.
It is worth noticing, finally, that the same crowd that shouted Hosanna would later cry for the cross. Praise that depends on mood is fragile. The cure is a heart that has been truly changed, grounded in the word and rooted in a living relationship with Christ. Let your praise outlast the moment.
Application: Take time today to thank God out loud for every chain He has already broken in your life. Name them one by one. Gratitude strengthens faith for what is still ahead.
Point Ten: Staying Loosed and Growing Up
The last part of the story is quiet. The King rides into the city, and the colt carries Him. Then the Gospels move on. But for us, the question remains: how do we stay free, and how do we keep growing?
Jesus said in John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Notice the word indeed. Real freedom, not temporary relief. Yet He also warned in Luke 11 about the unclean spirit that returns to an empty house and brings seven others worse than itself. The lesson is that a swept and empty life is not safe. The house must be filled with the presence of Christ.
Spiritual growth is the answer. Second Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Growth does not happen by accident. It happens through steady habits: daily time in the Bible, regular prayer, faithful attendance in a church that teaches the word, honest relationships with other believers, regular giving and service, and a willingness to be corrected.
Paul told the Galatians to stand fast, and the Greek idea behind that phrase is to remain firmly planted. It involves daily decisions. Each morning we choose whether to walk in the freedom Christ gave or to slip back into old patterns. Some days will be victorious, and some will include failure. When failure comes, do not give up. Confess, receive forgiveness and begin again. God is more committed to your growth than you are.
Part of staying free is being on guard against pride. A person who has been delivered can slide into thinking that the deliverance was a reward for being better than others. It was grace. The right response is humility and compassion for those who are still tied. The best use of a testimony is to say, “If He did it for me, He can do it for you.”
Another part of staying free is protecting your inner life. Be careful what you watch, what you listen to and whom you walk with. Not everything that is permitted is helpful. The colt that has been set free should not wander back to the post.
Application: Create a simple weekly rhythm that supports your growth: daily Bible reading, set times of prayer, weekly fellowship, and one act of service. Write it down and review it each Sunday.
Putting It All Together
Let us gather the threads of the story. Bondage is real and takes many forms, from old habits to unforgiveness to spiritual oppression, and the first step is to name it honestly. The Master knows exactly where each person is tied, and nothing about your situation is hidden from Him. Deliverance often comes through obedient people who act on His word, and we are called to pray and help one another. The night hours can be powerful for focused prayer, as shown by Paul and Silas, the praying church and Jesus Himself. Even the redeemed need help removing grave clothes, and the church exists to assist in that work. Freedom has a purpose: the Lord has need of us, and we are meant to carry Him into the world. Holiness keeps the vessel clean and the prayer clear. Faith that obeys without arguing opens the door to what God wants to do. Praise follows deliverance, and growth keeps us free.
If you are looking for a practical way to apply this teaching, begin with honesty, then add rhythm. Be honest about what is tying you. Set a regular time for prayer and protect it. Read the Bible until faith grows. Ask a mature believer to walk with you. Confess sin quickly. Serve someone every week. Praise often. Give thanks for every chain that has already fallen. And keep asking, as the colt would if it could speak: What does the Lord need me to carry today?
A Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You see every village, every door and every knot. You know where we have been tied, and You know how long. Thank You that nothing about our lives is hidden from You and that You have already sent help.
Where we have been bound by fear, habit, bitterness or shame, speak a word of release. Where we have been wrapped in the grave clothes of old ways, send people who will help us walk free. Teach us to pray with confidence, with persistence and with a clean heart. Teach us to rise in the quiet hours and seek You, and to praise You before the answer comes.
Make us holy, Lord, set apart for Your use. Let our faith be simple and obedient, like the disciples who went and did as You commanded. Fill the places that have been emptied with Your Spirit, so that nothing unclean can return.
Use us to carry Your presence into our homes, workplaces and communities. And when You have loosed us, keep us from wandering back. We give You all the glory, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Final Thought
Few phrases in the Gospels are as full of hope as the one Jesus spoke to two ordinary disciples: loose them and bring them to Me. It says that the Master is looking for the tied and the stuck, that He has a plan to free them, and that He intends to use them once they are free. If you have been waiting for a sign that God has not forgotten you, this is it. He knows your village. He has sent help. Go, loose, and bring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pastor Lazarus Muoka?
He is a Nigerian pastor, minister and author, and the founder and General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement. The church was founded on December 23, 2002, in Lagos. wikipedialegit
What is the sermon “Go and Loose Them” about?
It is a midnight prayer session of about 42 minutes, published on October 13, 2026. The title echoes the instruction Jesus gave to two disciples in Matthew 21:2 to untie a colt and bring it to Him, a picture of deliverance and service. youtube
Where can I watch the message?
It is available on YouTube under the title “Pastor Lazarus Muoka Midnight Prayers | Go and Loose Them.” You can also watch it in the video player at the top of this page.
Is this article a transcript of the sermon?
No. The study above is an original message built on Matthew 21 and related passages. For Pastor Muoka’s exact words, please watch the video.
Does the Bible teach midnight prayer?
The Bible records several examples, including Paul and Silas praying and singing at midnight in Acts 16, the psalmist rising at midnight to give thanks in Psalm 119:62, and Jesus spending a whole night in prayer in Luke 6:12. It does not command everyone to pray at midnight, but it shows that setting apart focused hours for prayer is a godly practice.
How can I stay free after deliverance?
Feed on the Bible daily, pray regularly, stay connected to a local church, confess sin quickly, avoid the places and habits that caused the bondage, and keep serving others. The Bible teaches that those who are set free should stand fast in their liberty and grow in grace.