But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
Psalm 35 was written by David, the famous king of Israel, as a raw and urgent cry to God during a time when people he had once cared for turned against him and were celebrating his suffering. In this verse, David looks back and remembers how he had treated those same people when they were sick: he put on sackcloth — a rough, uncomfortable garment worn in ancient cultures as a visible sign of mourning or deep sorrow — and he fasted and prayed for them. Fasting here was an act of intense, self-humbling prayer: going without food to pour himself out in intercession on someone else's behalf. The verse ends with one of the most painfully honest lines in all of scripture: his prayers returned to him unanswered. God did not seem to respond. David is not softening this or finding a silver lining — he is naming the silence directly.
God, I need to tell you that some of my prayers have felt like they came back empty. I have been carrying the disappointment quietly, keeping things polite between us. I am bringing it to you now. I do not need a full explanation — I just need to know you are still listening, and that the silence is not the end. Amen.
"My prayers returned to me unanswered." That is not a line you see cross-stitched on a pillow. But it might be one of the most honest sentences in the entire Bible, and it belongs to a man God himself called a man after his own heart. David prayed desperately for people who later betrayed him — wore sackcloth, fasted, humbled himself before God on their behalf — and heard nothing back. No healing. No sign. Just silence. And then those same people became his enemies. When prayers go unanswered, the temptation is to turn the blame inward (you did not pray hard enough, with enough faith, in the right way) or to quietly stop believing prayer does anything at all. David does neither. He writes the pain into a psalm. He does not resolve the tension or wrap it up neatly — he records it and keeps talking to God anyway. There is something almost more faithful in naming the silence than in pretending it is not there. Have you been honest with God about your unanswered prayers — or have you been quietly managing your disappointment, keeping things polite?
David fasted and prayed sincerely for people who later became his enemies, and he says his prayers went unanswered. What does this tell us about the relationship between faithful, earnest prayer and the outcomes we actually receive?
Have you ever prayed consistently and earnestly for something or someone, only to receive what felt like silence from God? How did that experience shape — or shake — your relationship with prayer?
Is it honest — or even faithful — to tell God that your prayers felt like they came back empty? Or does naming that feel like a failure of faith to you? Where does that tension come from?
David prayed for people who were suffering even when they were his adversaries. How does that challenge or complicate the way you approach praying for people who have hurt or deeply disappointed you?
Is there an unanswered prayer you have been quietly carrying — managing your disappointment instead of naming it honestly to God? What would it look like to bring it to him directly, in writing or out loud, this week?
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
2 Samuel 1:12
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Romans 12:15
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble ? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job 30:25
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 5:44
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
Psalms 69:10
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:16
And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Matthew 10:13
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (mourning garment); I humbled my soul with fasting, And I prayed with my head bowed on my chest.
AMP
But I, when they were sick — I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
ESV
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
NASB
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
NIV
But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
NKJV
Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.
NLT
When they were sick, I dressed in black; instead of eating, I prayed.
MSG