Let’s face it: Some people find it harder to memorize scripture than others. Like everything else in the Christian life, start by knowing that you’re not alone. Ask God to help you, and proceed in faith that he’s doing just that. Most Christians will find the following procedure helpful:
- Select a passage that’s meaningful to you
- Write it on a 3″ x 5″ index card
- Read it out loud (this is important)
- Think carefully what the words mean
- Verbalize the passage’s message to an imagined audience
- Gradually memorize until the card is no longer needed
- Underline and list each memorized passage in your Bible
Why memorize scripture?
Good question! If your goal is to impress friends and family, then go back to the drawing board. God’s help for you will be to do some humbling work in your heart instead. Here’s what the Bible says is a better reason for memorizing God’s word. By the way, it’s one of the verses that I committed to memory many years ago. “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119.11) Here’s another: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.” (Josh 1.8).
There’s another very good reason to memorize scripture – especially those passages that God speaks and reveals to you. Think of it in terms of being faithful with a few things. If you ignore what he gives you as if it’s meaningless, he’ll simply move on to find someone else. If on the other hand you show him that you value his revelations enough to memorize and notate them in your Bible, he’ll increase his flow to you correspondingly.