Memorizing scripture is like spiritual exercising. It's hard work. It takes diligence and discipline. But the rewards are very worth it!
I am currently in Matthew in my morning Bible reading. I have finished the OT (Old Testament) and am starting the NT (New Testament.) I have been amazed to see how many times people quote scripture in the Bible. Jesus is most likely the best example of this - he quotes Scripture right and left! When the Pharisees asked him tricky questions, He often answered with Scripture.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He resisted with Scripture. This makes perfect sense, because Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."
Here are 10 tips to help you memorize Scripture. They are not in order of helpfulness. :D
#1: Memorize Scripture
Just do it. This seems to be the hardest step. If you don't just do it, it's not going to get done. The more scripture you memorize, the easier it will be to memorize scripture (this is SO true!!) Your memory is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will become and the easier it will be to memorize.
#2: Tack Up Your Memory Verses
At this moment I have probably about 10 scripture passages tacked up all over the house. It helps so much! I got this idea because one day I realized that I'd memorized every Scripture verse or quote we'd put around the house for decoration without realizing it. I would subconsciously repeat the verses to myself as I passed them, and pretty soon they were all memorized, and I wasn't even trying!
#3: Get A Buddy
Oh wow, accountability is so helpful in this area. It is easy to say, "I want to memorize --- number of verses, passages, or chapters by --- time" but it is QUITE another thing to actually do it. If I have an incentive or a friend or sibling I'm memorizing with, I have found that I usually get my verses memorized, while if I am just doing it by myself, I hardly even get half of my verses memorized. FaceTime makes having a scripture memory partner very easy now! (See #6 for a GREAT idea for an incentive.)
Mama and I are memory buddies sometimes. We have a tradition of memorizing chapters together - we break it into pieces, and go back and forth reciting it. Sometimes we sing a part of it. We have memorized Psalm 40 and Psalm 106 this way and are memorizing Luke 19 and Isaiah 40 soon. We've performed them at various places and it's so fun and many people have told us it's very encouraging to hear. Plus we get to spend time together doing it!
#4: Record The Verses/VerseLocker
I used to record my verses, passages, and chapters on Audacity, then transfer them onto CDs or MP3 players. I listened to the CDs while doing dishes, and the MP3 player when I was alone. Listening to verses is the best way I've ever found of reviewing passages I've already learned.
However, I recently discovered a website called VerseLocker, which has saved me so much time!
It has a very good computer voice that will read the verses you import. Here's how it works:
You create a free account, type in the passage(s) you want to memorize, click the import button, add it to your verses page, and then you can download it onto iTunes! Or you can add the verse(s) to your playlist and download the whole playlist at one time. I put these playlists on my mp3 player. I can have hundreds of verses recorded and downloaded in about half an hour instead of a week! Here's the link:
#5: Memorize Passages/Chapters Backwards
"efil gnitsalreve evah tub hsirep ton dlouhs miH ni seveileb reveohw taht noS nettogeb ylno siH evag eH taht dlrow eht devol os doG roF ~ 61:3 nhoJ
That is John 3:16 TOTALLY backwards. No, that is NOT what I mean. LOL. I mean something like this:
1. Memorize Genesis 1:1-5, for example
2. Recite Genesis 1:1-5
3. Then say,
"Genesis 1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:5
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Etc.
This is very helpful for nailing the verses and getting them all word-perfect and in order in your head.
#6: Definitely Join The Bible Bee (!!!!)
If you don't know what the Bible Bee is, I would strongly encourage you to go here to find out: www.biblebee.org
Through the Bible Bee, I have gained a deeper understanding of God's Word, grown closer to God, developed skills for studying the scripture, and memorized about 90% more Scripture than I ever imagined possible. Two years ago I had a hard time memorizing a passage that was 3 verses long. But I kept at it and kept memorizing longer and longer passages. Because of the Bible Bee, in 2017, I memorized over 1,000 verses. To God be the glory! During the winter/spring when I am not doing Bible Bee, I find it much harder to dive in and really study God's Word and memorize it. But the Bible Bee gives me motivation and keys to help me study. One of the motivations is that they hold a National Competition every year, (the National Bible Bee) for the top 120 contestants in each age division. I made it once before, in 2017, and am shooting for it again this year. But I do understand that Nationals is not the goal - Christ is. I recommend the Bible Bee to absolutely everyone!!!!
#7: Memorize Puny Bits At A Time
If you are first starting out memorizing or haven't done it that much, this is the trick that will unlock doors for you. I'll bet each of you probably know John 3:16. But for example, if you didn't know John 3:16 and it was the first verse you ever tried to memorize, I would start out saying,
"John 3:16 For God" over and over again, until if somebody asked you, "how does John 3:16 start?" you could say, "For God!" Then say, "so loved the world" over and over again. When you're confident you know that, say, "John 3:16 For God so loved the world" over a couple times, then move onto "the world that he gave" and so on and so forth until you've memorized the verse.
The next verse you memorize will be easier!
#8: Don't Put Boundaries On What You Can Memorize
When we were at the National Bible Bee two years ago, we were listening to the semi-finalists recite Scripture. It was so wonderful to hear God's Word recited from stage! Then I heard someone say, "That's just amazing. I could never do that!" Mama and I looked at each other with "Did you just hear that?" looks. Anyone can memorize scripture! When my little brother was 2 years old, he was memorizing verses and now he is memorizing passages! I've even heard of a pastor who has memorized 49 BOOKS of the Bible!! I'm going to say it again: the more you memorize the easier it is to memorize. It IS possible!!
#9: Put It To Song
How many songs can you sing by heart? How many scripture verses can you quote by heart? I don't know about you, but I might know more songs/hymns than I do Scripture passages. That's because we can associate notes with words very easily. It's much easier to listen to a song than to sit down and repeat a verse over and over again until you've memorized it. So even if you've never made up a song in your life, I encourage you to record the verses to a song. It can be whatever notes come to your head in whatever order, or you can put them to a song that already exists! (I put John 15:4-5 to Jesus Loves Me once.) Two years ago my oldest brother memorized 600-800 verses (in passages) by putting them to songs. He says he only spent about an hour a day on it! Songs are easy to remember, too. I still remember scripture songs that I listened to when I was 4. :D
#10: Highlight The Verses, Passages, and Chapters You've Learned In Your Bible
I decided to do this awhile ago. I took a yellow highlighter and highlighted a bunch of passages and chapters that I've learned in my Bible. I never realized how much I knew! In fact, I hadn't realized I knew all of Matthew 6 except for 3 verses. :D (Can you guess what I did next?) I'd memorized a passage from it here, and a passage from it there until I'd practically memorized the whole thing without realizing it. Not only is it an encouraging experience to go through and highlight verse after verse, it can be helpful for review. When you are doing your Bible Study, keep an eye out for verses or passages that you know and highlight them. Then, when you come across a highlighted passage, you can take a moment to read through it and review it.
#11: Pray There have been many, many times when I couldn’t get a passage down, asked God for help, and it came easily after that or I was able to understand it better (which helps you memorize it easier too. See next section.)
#12: Understand The Passage As Much As Possible
I've never tried memorizing a page from a medical book, but I can only imagine how hard that would be! Rattling off words that you don't know or understand is quite difficult. Not only does it help your memorization to understand the passage, the goal of reading the Bible is to understand it and live it! Spend some time reading through the passage first, and ask yourself "what does this mean?"
Here's My Favorite Method:
1. Read the verse 10 times
2. Close my eyes and recite it 10 times, emphasizing one different word each time.
3. Move onto verse two, repeating steps 1 + 2.
4. Once I have that verse down, I repeat both verses a couple times.
5. Move onto verse 3, and so on.
Let me leave you with two verses:
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Isaiah 55:1
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
What about you? Do you have any tips for memorizing Scripture? Are you memorizing anything currently? Please let me know in the comment section below!
Cheering for you!
Kina
~ To The Glory Of God Alone ~