When you are offered a "rate lock" from your lender, it means that you are guaranteed to keep a certain interest rate for a determined period while you work on your application process. This saves you from working through your entire application process and discovering at the end that your interest rate has gone up.
While there may be a choice of rate lock periods (from 15 to 60 days), the longer ones are generally more expensive. A lender can agree to lock in an interest rate and points for a longer period, like sixty days, but in exchange, the rate (and sometimes points) will be more than that of a rate lock of a shorter period.
In addition to opting for a shorter rate lock period, there are other ways you can attain the lowest rate. A bigger down payment will give you a reduced interest rate, since you'll have a good deal of equity from the beginning. You may opt to pay points to lower your interest rate over the loan term, meaning you pay more up front. For a lot of people, this makes sense and is a good deal..
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