How a Water Fast and a Prayer List Shifted My Life

A few days before my 34th birthday, I knew I needed change so I sat down one day and created a 30 day fast. I called it my “I Am 33 Fast” and looking back at the journal entry I wrote… I’m honestly in awe. Every single thing I prayed for? I have now.

Let me take you back.

📔 The Fast

I committed to:

Water all day
Eating one type of fruit a day
Dinner at 6 p.m.
No carbs
No added sugars

On top of the that, I was going to LA Fitness starting to work out again religiously. But that wasn’t the real fast. The real fast was me pulling away from what was draining me and leaning into what could rebuild me spiritually and emotionally. I wrote to myself:

“Fill up the empty feelings with things you require to build you spiritually & emotionally. Find joy.”

This wasn’t just a cleanse… it was a spiritual reconstruction.

🌿 Why I Fasted

I wrote out my “Why” and these reasons still hold me:

Detoxify to gain clarity
An overall cleanse
Reverse the order of dominance between the physical self vs. the spiritual self
Rebuild; start over

This wasn’t about punishment or proving anything. It was about getting back to me, the me I’d lost under yearning a life that I did not have, depression & anxiety, obligations & responsibility, burnout… all of it.

📖 The Scripture: Matthew 9:14–17

This part is wild. I jotted down Matthew 9:14–17, but I don’t even think I fully grasped how deep that verse was until now.

Jesus is asked why his disciples aren’t fasting like everyone else. His response?

“You don’t fast when the bridegroom is with you.”
“You don’t patch old clothes with new cloth.”
“You don’t pour new wine into old wineskins.”

What He’s saying is: you can’t walk into new blessings with old patterns. You have to prepare a new vessel for the new level.

That’s exactly what I was doing.

I wasn’t just skipping sugar or carbs. I was emptying myself of anything that couldn’t come with me into this new season. That fast was my reset. My rebuilding. My surrender.

📝 The List of Wants

Here’s the list I wrote while fasting:

Career clarity
Clean health for my grandmother
Motherhood for myself
Peace of mind
Independence
Solace

And y’all… within 14 days my life began to change.

I was offered a permanent position with my current company.
I got pregnant.
I lost my grandmother but understood she was now free of all diseases, pain and suffering.
I created a new life that works for me and my joy (Dru).

Not because I manifested it, but because I aligned with it. I made space for it. I fasted for it. I removed distractions, got clear, and trusted God with the rest.

💭 Final Thoughts: This is Bigger Than Food

Sometimes we fast from things that aren’t even edible. We fast from chaos. From self-doubt. From fear. From relationships that keep us in survival mode and relationships that we’re trauma bonded to.

I’m sharing this today because somebody else might be feeling stuck, cloudy, or disconnected. I want you to know: your reset is just one decision away. You don’t have to wait for a new year, or a rock bottom. You just have to be willing to say, “I want better, and I’m willing to let go of what’s blocking me from it.”

Xoxo, Drea