Uncommon Path Network

Dear Path Finder,
 
I pray you find your purposeful path, walk audaciously in it, and inspire others to find theirs too.

In all my 15 years of walking with Christ, never once did I imagine myself doing 40 days of prayer and fasting. I didn’t desire it. I didn’t think it was “for people like me.” That sort of thing felt reserved for abefundisi (the pastors), the called, the ones preparing to start churches. Certainly not a young woman navigating corporate life.

My history with fasting began back in Grade 12. I remember doing my very first full-day fast, praying for something I desperately needed at the time: a bursary. In varsity, I began fasting more often, mostly one-day fasts for specific requests. Then I stretched 3 days. 5 days. Eventually 7. Always breaking with one meal a day.

In time, the church I attended introduced 21 days of pure liquid fasts, no soups, no smoothies, no fancy teas. Just water, tea, coffee, and juice. I did it. Three times over two years. My fasting muscle was growing, but it was still always attached to needing something.

Then 2019 came. My father suffered a major stroke. The doctors told us he wouldn’t recover. For the 30 days he was in the hospital, I fasted 21 of them, eating only once a day. I’d spend the day with my mom and siblings in hospital rooms, trusting God with everything in me. And God, being who He is, healed my father.

But 2024 was different. Something shifted in my spirit. I began to hunger not for outcomes but for God Himself. I wanted to know Him, see Him, walk closely with Him. And then came the call to consecration.

At the time, my career was on a fast track. I was growing professionally, making visible progress. It didn’t make sense that God would “interrupt” this momentum. But He kept pressing. And eventually, I surrendered. I made the radical decision to take a six-month social media break & content creation starting July 1st.

Still, the call came sooner than that. During our January church fast beginning of the year 2025, I felt God whispering, “Forty days.” And I replied genuinely, “God, is that not for pastors? “What’s this really about?” I tried to reason with Him. “I go to the office every day, Lord. I drive myself. The pressure at work is intense. How can I possibly fast for 40 days?”

But the nudge wouldn’t go away. By mid-March, I could no longer ignore it. I planned to start in April, because… you know, we like new beginnings to fall on neat dates. But God had other plans. On March 24th, I started.

The first half of the fast was one meal a day. Around Day 21, God called me deeper to go liquid-only for the remaining 20 days. I remember saying to Him, “God, this feels like dying.” It truly did.

What made this fast so different was that I didn’t enter it with a request. No breakthrough. No healing. No open door I was hoping to pry open. Just a heart posture: “Lord, I want to see You. I want to walk with You.” And if I’m honest, I wrestled with that. Shouldn’t I at least ask for something? But something in me knew this wasn’t about His hand. I needed His face.

Truthfully, I’ve seen too much of God’s provision to ever doubt it again. That’s settled in my heart. But now, I was hungry for more. For depth. For closeness. For holiness. God whispered again: “I’m doing a new thing. You’re entering a new season.”

And in that season… I went through a lot. More than I can unpack here. At one point, I was almost unemployed. There were days I didn’t know what I was fasting “into,” only that God had called me and I had answered.

I am not the same.

During those 40 days, I received my very first personal prophecy. I was at a friend’s church when I felt God nudge me: “He’s going to call you.” I resisted. “God, not here. Not now.” But he did. The pastor prayed and prophesied with such accuracy it stunned me. No theatrics. No loud declarations. Just truth, delivered with grace. I wept. Not because I was afraid, but because I was seen. Known. Marked.

My hunger has gone deeper. My desire to be used by God is preceded by an even deeper longing to know Him more intimately. Before I pour out, I want to be filled rightly.

So why am I sharing this with you?

Because for change to come, something must shift. You cannot enter a new chapter with the habits, rhythms, or thinking that belonged to the old one. Change is never convenient. It will cost you. But it’s worth it.

Maybe for you, the change won’t look like a 40-day fast. But it might look like:

• Changing lazy habits and leaving comfort behind
• Audit your circle of friends
• Moving cities when God calls you to go
• Saying yes to a marriage with someone you would not ordinarily choose for yourself
• Resigning from a job without a backup

I don’t know what your change looks like. But I do know it’s necessary.

This letter is just the beginning of a new series on what life after 40 days of fasting looks like. There’s so much more to unpack, and I pray each one draws you closer to your own “yes.”

Shalom,
Oyena