From Shelf to Heart: The Journey of Scripture Memorization

Hey, listeners, come on in a little closer. I have a confession to make. In February 2024, I set a goal for myself Memorize one scripture each week. But, truth be told, I haven't quite kept up with it. Right now it's April 2024 and I'm lagging behind. I'm not going to tell you how far behind I am, but let's say it's not good. But despite my setback, I refuse to give up. I still believe in the power of Scripture memorization. So consider this episode of the Bible Basics podcast on Scripture memorization as a personal pep talk for me. I'm inviting you all to listen in as I encourage myself. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where, weekly, we break down the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks.

Let's start off by looking at why scripture memorization is important. Memorization is more than just rote learning. It's a way to internalize the Word of God, allowing it to shape our thoughts, actions and character. Memorization is a way to get the Word of God off the pages of the Bible and into our lives. For the long haul, we can have a whole shelf full of Bibles more Bibles than shoes, as one of my favorite people might say, but they do us no good until we know what's in them. So of course we need to read the Bible, but how much better is it to get scripture into our minds in such a way that it stays there far beyond the time spent reading the Bible and maybe a few moments afterward? When we memorize scripture, God can use it whenever he wishes to help us, encourage us, convict us and challenge us. It's also a lot easier to use scriptural truth when we're familiar with it through memorization than to try to find and learn new scriptures in the moment.

So why should we memorize scripture? Well, there are a limitless number of reasons why we should memorize scripture, but I'm going to keep it short. I'm going to pick out three to focus on today. First, memorizing scripture will convict us of sin, which leads to sinning less. This is a big point, because the enemy challenges us to sin every day.

Psalm 119:11 in the NIV says I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. As you commit to memory the word of God, you'll become more aware of what God says about how we are to live. God's Word hidden in your heart is the sword of the Spirit, available for battle at any time against sin and Satan. Ephesians 6: 13-17 describes the believer's armor for spiritual survival. All of the elements of the armor are defensive, except one, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Jesus himself demonstrated the importance of scripture memorization during his temptation in the wilderness. Instead of relying solely on his divine authority, he countered Satan's attacks with the word of God. In Matthew 4: 1-11, we see Jesus quoting from Deuteronomy, showing us that scripture is our most potent weapon against the schemes of the enemy. Weapon against the schemes of the enemy. Second, memorizing scripture will equip us to help others. Psalm 119: 97 - 100 reads quote oh, how I love your law. I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. When we have God's word hidden in our hearts, we can help others with authority and conviction. I don't have to say well, in the Bible, somewhere it says something about wives loving your husbands, but I'm not sure where or what it says. Memorization will allow us to more effectively help and counsel others.

Third, memorizing scripture will increase our love for God and our knowledge of God. I John 5: 2- 3 reads "this is how we know that we love the children of God by loving God and carrying out his commands of God. By loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God to keep his commands, and his commands are not burdensome. The Apostle John measures our love for God by our obeying his commandments, his word. We say we love God and that we desire to know him more intimately. Well if that's true, what better wa to know him than to memorize he love letters He wrote to us. So I'm clear on how important it is.

But how do I go about memorizing Scripture effectively? Here are five practical tips I came across. First, pray. Just as a baby craves milk for nourishment, we need to crave the Word of God for our spiritual sustenance. Let's pray for a deep hunger for scripture and for strength to memorize. Second, just do it. Get started. Pick the book, chapter or verse that has special meaning to you, maybe one that you believe will minister to you later or allow you to help others in their spiritual walk. The third tip is to set realistic goals. Start small and gradually increase the difficulty as you become more comfortable with memorization.

I'm going to stop here and say something that for me is bold and scary, but I believe it's true. In preparation for this episode, I read a few books by different authors on scripture memorization. A few of them recommended that we not get caught up in the idea of memorizing single verses. There's nothing wrong with that, but instead they each recommended memorizing full chapters instead of individual verses. The top reason is that we can so easily take verses out of context and may use them in inappropriate ways. So why does that sound scary to me? Because I think God is nudging me to do that, but I'm going to start small for now.

The next tip is the one I think is most important for me. That is, to have someone to hold you accountable. This partner will help review and push you to keep up with whatever goal you decide. Lastly, develop a system for memorization and review. Find a method that works for you, whether it's using an app, flashcards or reciting verses during idle moments throughout the day. A huge key for successful scripture memorization is a system, and that system will include repetition over a long time period. Set a consistent time or routine. We're creatures of habit. When we do something consistently and routinely, it becomes a part of our nature and it gets easier or takes less effort to do it. Also, consistent review is essential for retaining what you've memorized for the long term. After you've memorized the passage, be sure to review it regularly. If you don't, you'll lose it. I'm a witness to that.

Here are a few variations I came across that I thought might benefit someone, depending on your learning style. First, try recording what you're memorizing in your own voice. After you record it, listen to it whenever you can. Susan Heck recommended in her book A Call to Scripture Memory that we should speak it as fast as we can. Her reasons for that is studies have shown that we tend to learn the words from commercials quickly because of the speed of the voice.

If you're a visual learner, write your passage on three by five cards to have it available anytime. Try using different colors for each verse. That might help your brain remember by associating the colors on the cards with the words. If you're having trouble with a certain verse or passage, try putting it to music. The memorization app that I'm using, Fighter Verses, puts scripture to music. How long does it take for us to learn a new song? Not long, right? Might be worth trying it with God's word. Now I want to share a few systems that I came across. I'm going to start with a clip from an interview I did last January with Minister Valina Johnson, who shared her system for scripture memorization. Here it is.

Memorizing scripture is also good, so that you have something to fight with when the enemy shows up, because he will. But what I do is I have set a timer on my phone that 8 am every morning. I have a scripture that I have already, something that I might have been doing as my devotional. I might have been reading in a scripture popped up and it hit me and I'm like, oh, I want that, so I copy it, I put it in there and 8 am, and I do it for two weeks straight, or three weeks straight, nothing but that scripture.

And then what I do is, as I go, I pile it on and pile it on, so now I have seven or eight scriptures that I remember. A structured system I came across is the Navigator Scripture Memory System. It was developed as a clear, simple, proven way to meditate on key Bible verses. It's available as an app or a hard copy book that comes with memory flashcards and background information. Then there's the Fighter Verses, which is a website that's committed to helping us memorize God's Word. The site contains a wealth of memorization systems and tools, but of note is their free app, which contains over 1,000 verses, multiple translations, a variety of quizzes, a robust review system, plus much, much more. I'm using that one now and, of course, I have the links to both of these systems in the show notes.

So, before we conclude, let's get back to my confession. I want to tell you that I've recommitted for the second quarter, April through June. I'm going to try it again. I'm going to try it again. This time I set a more realistic goal of one scripture every two weeks. As I already mentioned, being accountable to someone is key, so I'm making a very public declaration of my intentions. I'm putting my goal out there and I'm giving you, my listeners, permission to check in on me when it comes to my progress. My email is info at bible-basics. org.

Thank you all in advance. I'm excited, inspired and encouraged to be with you in this community of believers. Let's all incorporate scripture memorization into our daily lives, if you haven't already. By doing this, we open ourselves up to a deeper understanding of God's truth and a more intimate relationship with him, and isn't that what we all need in this life? If you found this episode helpful, informative or inspirational in any way, would you please share with someone you know who needs to hear it? You can do that by sharing the podcast website bible-basics. org, or you can click on the share button right where you're listening now. For those of you listening on YouTube, go ahead and like, subscribe and leave us a comment. In closing, may the grace and peace of God be with you now and always.