WHY MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE?
You’ve probably been told to memorize scripture, but have you thought about why? Memorizing scripture is possible and can change your walk with God.
To find out why, let’s look to Jesus. Jesus is fully God and fully human, and yet he quoted scripture to attack temptation. How much more do we, who are fully human, need to memorize scripture?
Read this account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and notice his weapon of choice:
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:1-4).
Jesus was the most powerful human to ever walk this planet, and what did he use to fight against Satan? God’s word. This shows us the power of scripture. It’s safe to assume that Jesus knew the content and significance of scripture. Yet he quoted God’s Word to fight against Satan and temptation.
This shows us two things: the power of God’s word to remove Satan and temptations and that to use this power we need to first memorize scripture. If we don’t have key verses tucked away in our brains, we lack the weapon when we are in battle.
Most of us know that scripture is powerful, but we fail to take the time to memorize it. I know I used to rarely spend time each week memorizing scripture. I believed a lie that the task was too hard.
When the thought of memorizing scripture first entered my mind, these are the words that followed: impossible, unattainable, hopeless, and impractical. Then one day a friend showed me this method of memorizing and my way of thinking about memorizing scripture changed. I want to show you this method so that you will have the power of scripture to use in any battle.
HOW TO MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE?
There are a lot of memory systems out there and I’m sure there is merit in all of them, but this is the one that I’ve found works best for me. Follow the steps below for each verse you want to memorize.
- Find a verse that has power over your weaknesses. For example, if you are struggling with purity, search your Bible or the internet for verses about purity, freedom, or the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. (Openbible.info is a great resource for finding verses for every topic.)
- Read the verse through several times out loud. You can even record yourself reading the verse on your phone. This way you can listen to the verse as your driving or working out.
- *KEY STEP* Write the first letter of each word of the verse out on an index card. This step is what makes this way of memorizing different that others. This tip helps with long term memorization. If that does’t make sense to you, I’ve attached a photo of the verse I’m currently trying to memorize Pslam 18: 2 (NIV), “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (INSERT PHOTO)
- Look at the first letters and practice saying the verse. If you need help, turn back to the full verse. Then continue practicing with just the first letters.
- When you think you’ve mastered the verse, try writing it down without looking at your card or Bible.
- Feel free to create multiple verse cards with just the letters. You can hole punch each card and tie them together with string or a circle clip. This keeps them together and allows for easy flipping from verse to verse. Now you can master a verse, move on to a new verse, and then go back to the old a few days later.
Friends, this way of memorizing scripture has drastically changed my walk with God. I am now learning how to use the power of God’s word in day to day life and fight off Satan and temptation. I pray and hope that this method will help you as well.
