God’s Word tells us to hide His Word in our hearts. That
could mean many things; however, for me it simply means memorizing Scripture.
There are lots of reasons for doing this and many ways to attempt to do it. I’d
like to share my thoughts on the matter.
First, why memorize? I don’t know any other way to have
Scripture readily available to me than to have it in my mind. When Jesus was
out in the desert alone for 40 days, He did not have the scrolls of written
Scripture with Him. Yet, when Satan made his attacks on Jesus, Jesus quoted
Scripture, like wielding a sword, to fight off the attacks. If Jesus is our
example, we need to have Scripture readily available to us to fight off the
attacks that are used against us to throw us off track in our life in Christ.
Also, having Scripture memorized is vital in accurately
sharing the Word with others. It’s God’s Word that creates change in people –
no matter how elegant one’s speech might be. I want my conversations,
especially with those who don’t yet know Christ, to be filled with the truth.
I’m not saying that I need to go around quoting Scripture to everyone all the
time. What I’m saying is that when conversations turn spiritual in nature, I
want to be saying only that which God would approve of. Having His Word
foremost in my mind, I am more likely to do that.
Those are just two reasons; there are more. So, why is it so
hard to memorize Scripture? I hear that question often when I’m trying to
suggest to someone that they give it a try. I was introduced to a Scripture
memory plan a long time ago, and I still use this plan today to memorize and
review Scripture. I suggest trying it for yourself if you are just starting out
on this aspect of your Christian walk or are having trouble memorizing
Scripture.
First assign the verse a topic (topic ideas). Right now I’m
working on a set of verses that give me assurances of different aspects of the
Christian life. The first topic is “Assurance of Salvation.” The corresponding
verse is 1 John 5:11-12. So to start memorizing it, I start by memorizing the
topic and the reference. Once I’ve repeated those aspects several times, I ADD
the first phrase of the verse and repeat until I can say the topic, reference,
and first phrase aloud without making a mistake. Then I repeat the process
adding a second phrase of the verse. Each time I review I start at the
beginning with the topic and reference, then the parts of the verse I have
memorized, adding phrases one at a time until it’s firmly established in my
mind. I conclude with saying the reference again.
There are several key points to this process. For further
explanation go to the discipleship tools web site of the Navigators. Another
key thing for me has been writing the verse (with the topic and the reference
before and after) on cards (I’m currently using mini flashcards on a ring available at Amazon). Having the verses on cards allows me to carry them in my
purse or in my pocket so I can pull them out and review often. Repetition and
review are keys to getting the verses firmly planted in our minds. I like to
say that over-learning them is good. They become second nature like reciting
your phone number or your address. When’s the last time you forgot your
address?
I’ve found this system to work and the memorized verses have
stayed with me. I can’t say I remember word for word every verse I’ve
memorized, but as I work through the Assurance verses again with a friend, I’m
amazed at how easily the verses come to mind and how little “re-learning” I
have to do.
Several links are highlighted above for resources to some of
the concepts included in this article.
