How to Memorize Scripture

Memorizing Scripture is important, but it can be difficult to do. I’ve found three ways that help as I try to memorize Scripture.

The Bible is so important. As God’s Word and His communication to us, it’s vital to read it, study it … and memorize it.

But sometimes, memorizing Scripture can seem so difficult. And, maybe it’s just me, but it seems more difficult to remember to memorize it.

Difficult or easy, I still need to remember to memorize it and to hide the truth in my heart. (You do, too!) As Psalm 119:9-11 teaches,

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

To keep our ways pure, we need to guard our lives according to the Bible. (That’s why it’s so important!)

So that we don’t wander from the Lord’s commandments or sin against God, we are to store up His Word in our hearts.

What to memorize?

If you know you should memorize Bible verses, you may be wondering what you should memorize.

If you’re struggling with a certain area of life – or with a certain sin – find a verse that addresses it and then memorize it. Then, when you’re struggling or feel tempted, you can remind yourself of biblical truth.

If you’re a fairly new believer, you’ll want to work on memorizing basic Bible verses that are chock full of truth, like:

• John 3:16,
• Romans 3:23 and 6:23
• Ephesians 2:8-10, and
• 1 John 1:9.

As you grow in your faith, you may choose to memorize an entire chapter – or even an entire book of the Bible.

How to memorize

When you do decide to memorize, it’s good to take a small portion at a time and memorize it, then build upon it.

If you choose to memorize a book of the Bible, start at the beginning and work on it verse by verse – before you know it, the main themes and the beautiful patterns of Scripture will come rolling off your tongue.

In my own Christian walk, I tend to memorize Scripture in one of three ways:

Note cards

When I know what I want to memorize, I write it on a notecard. (Writing it out is a good way to start the process, manually adding the words to my memory.) Then, I stick it in a place where I tend to spend a lot of time:

• At this stage in my life, it’s the kitchen sink, where I stand and wash dishes.
• When I used to have a half an hour commute to work, I’d stick the notecards in my car, and repeat them over and over and over again while I was driving. (When I was starting to memorize new phrases, I’d have to wait until I got to stop signs.)
• In one of my first apartments, I had a shower curtain with see-through pockets – I stuck my current memory verse in a pocket and would repeat and repeat while washing my hair.

When memorizing by note cards, it’s important to read the verses out loud – it’s much easier to memorize when you can hear yourself saying the Scripture.

Wall art

I’m a big fan of filling my home with Scripture – so when I see a Bible verse on my wall or tabletop, I’m reminded of it. (I like knowing my family’s reminded of it, too.)

I will admit, though, that wall art typically just serves as a reminder – and not so much in the nitty gritty of Scripture memory.

Music

Hands down, the absolute easiest way for me to memorize Scripture is through song. If I can put Scripture to music, I can memorize it quickly – and remember it for a long, long time. (As I know from my uncanny ability to remember lyrics from ’80s pop songs, music really sticks with me.)

I’ve memorized vacation Bible school songs just to memorize Bible verses, I’ve made up my own tunes – and this winter I was introduced to Seeds Family Worship.

I LOVE (love, love, love!) Seeds Family Worship. After hearing them perform in concert at my church this winter, my family bought all their CDs … and I play them whenever I’m in the car.

It doesn’t matter if my kids are with me or not – I love their music. I love filling my mind with the songs. (And all of the lyrics are Bible verses.) I love that when I listen to the songs over and over, I’ll end up waking up in the morning singing one of the songs in my mind – and every single word is Scripture! I love knowing that I’m subliminally thinking of God’s Word.

I’ve found that by listening to Seeds Family Worship for the past three months, I’ve memorized much more Scripture than I have in years. (For the record, my absolute favorite Seeds Family Worship album is The Word of God.)

My different ways of memorizing Scripture help in different seasons and situations of life – but they all work. And as long as I’m doing the work of memorization, that’s all that matters!

How do you prefer to memorize Scripture?

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All images courtesy of Pixabay.