How do you feel about memorizing Scripture?

I know what many of you are thinking. “There’s no way I can memorize Scripture.”  Or, “I don’t need to memorize Scripture because I have six Bible translations at home as well as Bibles on my laptop, phone, and Kindle.” But wait! Before you stop reading, let me give you a few things to consider.

Benefits of Scripture Memory

Memorizing God’s Word solidly entrenches His truth in your heart and mind in a way that simply reading it cannot. When God’s truth becomes a part of you, He can use it to minister to you in powerful and very personal ways. Here are a few ways God can work in our life through His implanted Word:

• Provide comfort, encouragement, peace, and strength (Colossians 3:15-16; Psalm 1:1-3; 119:28)
• Give guidance and wisdom (Psalm 37:31; Psalm 119:24, 98, 105)
• Foster spiritual growth (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 2:2)
• Equip for evangelism (1 Peter 3:15; Acts 18:28)
• Source of joy and blessing (Psalm 119:24, 47, 103; James 1:21-25)
• Strength to resist temptation (Psalm 119:11)

How do I begin memorizing Scripture?

Now you may agree that memorizing Scripture is beneficial, but you are still overwhelmed at the idea. “Where do I start? How do I do it?” I’ve had those same feelings. For years, I knew God wanted me to purposefully work to memorize His Word. I made a half-hearted attempt several times, with limited success. However with a renewed commitment and some helpful, practical tips for memorizing I have begun to successfully “hide God’s Word in my heart.”

The first step towards success is making a commitment to God and yourself. The next step is to arm yourself with some helpful tips. Here are some Scripture Memory Tips to help you get started. Then you will need to choose a passage to start memorizing.

How do I decide what to memorize?

Choose a passage God is using in your life. He may emphasize it during your quiet time, a sermon, or Bible study. Start small with just a verse or two. You can work up to lengthier passages later. This verse or passage may:

• Speak to an area of weakness in your life
• Have special significance in your spiritual journey
• Remind you of something important about God
• Be useful for instruction or to help guard against sin

My New Scripture Memory Challenge

I’ve encouraged others to memorize Scripture and this website has numerous plans and tools to help. Although I personally work to regularly memorize new verses and review past ones, I admit I could do a better job of hiding God’s Word in my heart. That’s why I’ve decided to take things to the next level and accepted a challenge to memorize an entire chapter. (For more about my most recent memory commitment and how you can participate, see Monday’s post.)

Here’s my challenge for you: Do more than you are doing now. If you’ve never memorized Scripture before, then start with one verse a week or even one a month. The important thing is to start. If you’ve been memorizing individual verses for a while, move up to short sections. If you’ve done small chunks like that before, then consider joining me in memorizing the first chapter of 1 Peter.

Let’s talk! Where are you now in the Scripture memory journey? Do you need to begin or do you need to take it to the next level?

Here are some links to some helpful article and resources to help you in your commitment to memorize Scripture:

• Scripture Memory Tips
• “Why Memorize Scripture” by Don Piper
• Hiding His Word in My Heart (The 1 Peter 1 Challenge)
• A section a month plan
• Salvation Basics plan
• Topical Plan

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