House of Hope Online

March 22, 2026

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Late last Tuesday night, my wife Nancy and I were traveling home from Birmingham, AL by car with our son Anthony and his two dogs, Leo and Saul.  We had gotten a late start, and it was about 11 PM when we decided to make one final stop for gas.  We took an exit off I-79 near Bridgeport, WV, which is about an hour and a half from our homes in Pittsburgh.  As we pulled into a gas station, we felt a roughness to the ride that turned out to be a flat tire.

This was not good news because we were due to be home late as it was even without having the delay of changing a tire in freezing weather.  Anthony graciously let his parents sit in the vehicle with the dogs while he began changing the tire.  Anthony and I had to begin reading the owner’s manual because freeing the spare tire is no easy task anymore.  We decided to call AAA in case  we ran into an issue and there was a long wait time.

Fortunately, the AAA man arrived after 15 minutes.  He helped free the spare tire, and he and Anthony began working on removing the lug nuts.  Soon, another problem arose.  They were unable to loosen the lug nuts binding the flat tire to the vehicle.  Apparently larger SUVs are having issues with swelling of the lug nuts due to the weight of the vehicle. 

At this point, I began to resign myself to the possibility that we would have to get the vehicle towed and stay somewhere overnight.  There was a Hampton Inn next door, but the parking lot looked crowded, and we were not sure if they would allow dogs.  Complicating the issue was the fact that Anthony and I had busy workdays scheduled for Wednesday, which made it important that we get home Tuesday night.

About this time, my oldest son, Will, called in response to Nancy’s text message reporting that we were stranded in West Virginia.  As Anthony and the AAA man continued to try to loosen the lug nuts, Will, Nancy, and I began to pray over the phone.  The AAA man told Anthony: “There’s no way in hell these lugs nuts are coming off tonight.”

Just then Will prayed a simple but effective prayer: “Lord, Your word says whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever we loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.  Lord we are asking You to loose these lug nuts in Jesus’ name.”

Shortly after Will prayed this prayer, Anthony opened the door and said the lug nuts had been loosed!  The oppression of the devil lifted, and there came in its place a spirit of joy among us.  Even the AAA man had a joyful countenance.  The spare tire was quickly bound to the vehicle, and we were on our way.

When we told Will about the “no way in hell” comment, Will said: “Well, we were not asking hell.”

Looking for the Lug Nuts

The scripture that Will quoted in his prayer came from Matthew 18.  These are Jesus’ words.

Matthew 18:

 18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

 19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

 20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”

As Anthony and the AAA man worked, three of us were “gathered together” in Jesus’ name.  We agreed on earth to ask for those lug nuts to be loosed.  And Jesus promised that whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.  When I get to Heaven, I fully expect to see those loosed lug nuts there, in accordance with Jesus’ promise in Matthew 18.

As I reflect on that night, the lug nuts were not the only thing that needed loosed.  I had allowed the devil to speak into me about our predicament.  My initial reaction was “We’re screwed.”  I was angry that this had happened, and thus I played right into the devil’s hands.  Instead of praising the Lord for the victory ahead of time, I agreed with the devil that I was bound by this misfortune.  Just as the lugs nuts bound that flat tire and prevented our freedom to get home, my fleshly reaction bound me to the devil’s oppression.

Jesus Freaks to the Rescue

This is not the first time the Lord has appeared to me on the roadside.  When I was a freshman in college, I was driving home in bad weather for Thanksgiving break when my $300 Chevy Corvair had a blow out on an icy highway and spun out of control into the center grass medial strip.  I was nearly killed.  When I tried to get to my spare tire, I found my trunk was frozen shut.  To quote my new friend from AAA, there was “no way in hell that trunk was going to open.”

As I sat in shock and despair in my Corvair, God sent what I used to call “Jesus Freaks” but what I now know were four angels to pray over my trunk.  They prayed and laid hands on my trunk, miraculously popped it open, changed my tire, prayed for me, said “Jesus loves you, Brother,” and were on their way.

My point here is that when we find ourselves bound on earth in a difficult or dangerous situation, instead of yielding to the devil’s oppression, we need to loose that thing on the earth and expect it to be loosed in Heaven.  We loose things on earth by gathering together in Jesus’ name and agreeing in prayer.  That’s what the four “Jesus Freaks” did, and that is what Will, Nancy, and I did that night in West Virginia.

Things That Need Loosed

The Lord has impressed on me that many things need to be loosed on earth.

• Loose the bonds of wickedness, undo all bondage, free the oppressed, and break every yoke that binds us.
• Loose the Spirit of Faith in these End Times.
• Loose the Spirit of Prophecy that builds faith.
• Loose the healing of infirmities: call out all cancers, heart disease, infirmities of all internal organs, mental and emotional infirmities.
• Loose the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
• Loose the harvest of seeds sown in faith and loose the hundredfold return.
• Loose the Blessed Basket of 2026: Deuteronomy 28:5 “Blessed [shall be] your basket and your kneading bowl.

Things That Need Bound

• Bind the spirit of fear of sickness and financial lack.
• Bind the spirit of depression and oppression.
• Bind the spirit of unbelief.
• Bind the spirit of debate within the Church.
• Bind the spirit that divides families.
• Bind all deeds of the flesh among believers: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.

Closing

As we loose the bondage that oppresses us, let us walk in kindness and truth, enjoying the favor of God and man.

Proverbs 3:

 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You once again for protecting me and my family with travel mercies.  Lord, we call out the bondage that oppresses us and our loved ones.  We loose those bonds as You did those lug nuts.  We gather together and agree in prayer that the blessings of 2026 shall be loosed suddenly.  We bind all opposing spirits that seek to oppress, depress, and mislead even the elect.  We pray for the Bride of Christ that the spirit of debate would not divide her, and we pray over our families that they would submit to You and therefore remain strong in resisting the schemes of the devil.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.