It was night and the first time I had experienced road rage. Driving home from church on a busy interstate, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw the grill of an 18-wheeler on my bumper. He blinked his lights and blew his horn for 10 minutes or more. Although I was driving the speed limit, I sped up just to avoid being run over.
But I did more. I prayed. I repeated Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid I will trust in you.” Over and over I said this verse.
He finally pulled around and passed me. Although I was shaken, knowing a verse that gave me peace when I needed it helped me remain calm.
There are many times in life when we need to know a Scripture verse from memory and recall it quickly. Memorizing Scripture is the best defense in times of trials and problems, or simply when we need to praise God for His goodness.
Reasons
There are many reasons why memorizing Scripture is important.
Alabama author Denise George says it this way: “As a little girl my grandfather challenged me constantly to memorize Scripture. To please him, I would study a Scripture section, memorize it and, with a big smile of fulfillment, I would stand before him and recite it.
“As a senior citizen, I still remember word for word these memorized, encouraging scripture verses. Throughout my long life they have served me each day … especially when I’ve encountered difficult times. I now challenge my little grandson to memorize Scripture knowing he’ll carry that treasure within his mind and heart as he grows into his place in the world.”
But now more than ever, we need to hide God’s word in our hearts. The Lord created our brains to memorize Scripture; it helps keep us sharp. The King James Version says in Proverbs 23:7, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” What we think about determines who we are. Think about God’s word.
What is your mode of learning? If you learn best by seeing something, you are a visual learner. If you recall information through hearing, you are an auditory learner. If you remember best by doing or acting it out, you are a kinesthetic learner.
There is no instant or magic way to memorize Scripture. Find a method that works for you and stay with it. The desire and commitment to memorize are the secrets and repetition is key.
Decide how many verses you want to learn in a day, week or month and review them often.
Visual
- Picture in your mind the first letter of each word. Example: Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (GtttL,fHig). Write these letters on a sticky note where you will see them often. Use them as clues for memorizing.
- Organize verses into topics, such as fear, praise, forgiveness, anxiety, faith, etc. Work on the chosen topic for a month or more.
- Keep a small notebook of Scripture verses you are working on. Throughout the day read them over and over.
Auditory
- Break the verse down into phrases. When they are memorized, string them together in a sentence.
- Record a verse on your smartphone and play it back frequently.
- Sing the words; develop a melody.
- Play Christian songs that contain Scripture and use them when traveling. Children will learn the words easily. Seeds Family Worship and Steve Green have songs with lyrics from the Bible.
Kinesthetic
- Form a mental picture of a word in the verse. Example: Psalm 23:1: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Write out the verse and draw a shepherd’s staff near it.
- To represent love, draw a heart or hold up a large heart when working with a group of children.
- Get a group together and play charades, where you act out the verse by giving pantomimed clues. Be creative and have fun. This is especially good for youth groups.
- Use a wide rubber band to write a phrase or part of the verse and wear it as a bracelet as a reminder of the verse you are learning.
Start with these
Begin with these four verses every believer should know:
- Genesis 1:1
- John 1:1
- John 1:14
- John 3:16
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