Memorizing Scripture
The practice of memorizing scripture is often neglected in these days of easy access to information. After all, why memorize scripture when you can access it with a few taps on a screen? Unless we’re intentional about it we will miss one of the most valuable tools for spiritual growth – memorizing and meditating on the word of God.
Why memorize scripture?
The psalmist wrote “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (119:9). The storing up of God’s word in our heart is a natural result of wholehearted devotion to God. We treasure the words of our Beloved because they are valuable, and we want to keep them secure and accessible to us. The location of that storage is the human heart, the center of our being. We tend to think of the heart as the seat of emotions, but it was bigger than that in Hebrew thinking. The “heart” was the center, the core, the essence of a person encapsulating thoughts, feelings, and motivations. The words of God are to be affecting and transforming the very center of our being.
Memorization of scripture in the days of the psalmist was a practical matter. As a scribe serving in the temple, the psalmist had access to the written word of God, but most people did not, and so they had to memorize it. They likely did this through song and through repeated exposure to the public reading of scripture (Nehemiah 8:1-8). However, with the easy access to the scriptures that have today, it’s easy to become complacent when it comes to storing up vast quantities of scripture in our hearts.
According to psalmist, the result of truly valuing and treasuring the words of God is that it can help you resist the corrupting effects of sin. The word of God is described in Ephesians 6:17 as “the sword of the Spirit.” We wield the ultimate weapon of truth when fighting our ancient adversary, the devil and father of lies. Jesus showed us how to use this weapon when he was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Each time he was tempted, he answered with scripture, specifically from a passage in Deuteronomy (chapters 6 and 8) suggesting that he may have been meditating on that portion of scripture at the time of his temptation.
The treasure of storing scripture in your heart is that you can produce it on demand. It readily comes to mind at the moment of need because you have accessed it before and used it over and over. There’s no time lost fumbling on a smartphone, just immediate truth spoken from God’s heart to yours at just the right time.
Finally, storing scripture in your heart is part of a process that transforms your thinking. As you recite scripture, God’s words and thoughts become your words and thoughts through repetition in the same way that you learned to speak and think as a child, imitating the words of your parents. “You sound just like your dad!” Yes, that is the goal – that our speech and thinking would be just like that of our Father, or as the apostle Paul wrote, “we have the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
How to memorize scripture:
1. Stick to one translation for consistency. There are a lot of great translations out there, so pick one and stick with it. Consult other translations for study, but when it comes to memorizing, stay with the same one.
2. Do not paraphrase your memorization. Learn it word for word. It’s easier to memorize it correctly the first time than to have to rememorize it and struggle with doubt. Would you want to listen to a musician you played 95% of the notes correctly? It would be painful. Invest the time upfront to learn the verse well.
3. Speak the passage aloud. Put emotion into the scripture as you quote it. Use gestures and postures that reflect the text. Act it out physically. The more you engage your body, the more connections are made with the brain.
4. Review often to retain what you have memorized. Here’s the approach I have used:
Spend 5 minutes memorizing a verse for the first time, getting it perfect
Review the verse before going to sleep
Review the verse when you wake up.
Mull it over at various times throughout the day; recite it out loud repeatedly. Take advantage of “dead time”, waiting in traffic or in line, while walking. Put down your phone and recall the words of God.
Do this with your verse(s) for a week and it’ll stick forever. Continue to review the verse(s) once a week going forward. Use them when you pray, teach, and speak with others.
5. Memorize passages that mean something to you personally. You will memorize what is important and useful to you. The first significant section of scripture I recall memorizing was Matthew 6:25-34. I memorized it in middle school because I was struggling with fear and anxiety. The text helped me overcome my fear, and to this day, God brings these words to mind redirecting me away from worry and into faith.
6. Avoid these four pitfalls
Doubt. The more you rely on your memory, the stronger it becomes.
Discouragement. Like any discipline, there will be setbacks, but just like muscles get stronger with use, so does your memory.
Comparison. There’s always going to be someone who seems to be able to remember things better than you. So what?
Fatigue. Just as your body needs rest to recover from exercise, allow yourself to rest between memory work sessions.
7. Look for mental hooks such as: the rhythm of words and phrases, patterns and parallels, memory chains linking idea to idea, vivid metaphors and word pictures.
8. Link verses together in longer passages. If you are memorizing a long passage, memorize a verse along with the first word of the next verse. Often our memory fails at the end of a verse as we struggle to remember the first word of the next verse. Learn that next word as part of the previous verse to help make that connection. I learned this as a piano player trying to play through an entire piece for memory. I’d memorize four measures and the first note of the fifth measure as a single unit. This helped me to keep going and avoid memory failure in the breaks.
9. Break your task down into smaller parts. Maybe you’ve heard the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer: “One bite at a time.” Memorizing large chunks of scripture and entire psalms can seem like an elephantine task, but if you will set goals for sections of memory work and keep at it, inevitably, you’ll accomplish your goals.
10. Reward yourself. While memorizing scripture is its own reward, it can help to have other motivators to keep us advancing. I’m motivated by setting goals and achieving them. That satisfaction of accomplishment is usually enough for me. But maybe you’re motivated by the encouragement of others, so work with like-minded friends and hold each other accountable.