Are you a product of the late 70’s and early 80’s? If you answered yes then you more than likely know most music from that era word for word. We take time to focus on things that interest us. The things that give us life. Would you say the same thing about God’s word? I dare to challenge and say the answer to that question is not as much. You will find that these 3 steps to make Scripture memory surprisingly simple.
Upon recent travels to visit family, our playlist was filled with songs from our glory days. My husband and I reflected on just this issue. It is so easy to remember the trivial song lyric, but not on God’s Word. While it is easy to commit things to memory, it takes effort and time. As Christians, we are asked to draw close in relationship with God, and in order to do this one way is to be in His Word.
The Bible is not meant for casual reading then being stored upon our shelves like a NY Times best seller.
This book is for storing in our hearts and minds according to Jeremiah 31:31-33. This allows us to recall His word in our times of need and in our times of hope.The disciples held the Scriptures to memory. Since there was no way to carry the scrolls with them the followers of Jesus memorized God’s Word. They used it as examples to live by and to teach others. In times of crisis, it was easy to recall when needed.
In Luke 4, when Satan was tempting Jesus to sin, Jesus used Old Testament scriptures to overcome the temptation. If Scripture to overcome the temptation of Satans schemes is important to Jesus then we need to make it a priority in our own lives.
The 3 ways to memorize Scripture that are surprisingly simple are as follows:
The first way to memorize Scripture is to write the focus verse on an index card. Find spiral bound sets, or loose cards that help make this easy for you. A Forbes Magazine article on April 15, 2018 discusses neuroscience and why you need to write down your goals to achieve them:
Writing things down happens on two levels: external storage and encoding. External storage is easy to explain: you’re storing the information contained in your goal in a location (e.g. a piece of paper) that is very easy to access and review at any time. You could post that paper in your office, on your refrigerator, etc. It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to know you will remember something much better if you’re staring at a visual cue (aka reminder) every single day.
Mark Murphy, Senior Contributor
Beginning with small sections of Scripture is the second way to making Scripture memory surprisingly simple.
You have a favorite song on repeat. You find it easiest to remember the chorus first before you catch on to the verses. It is the very same way with memorization of Scripture. We need to decide on the section of the Word that we want to commit to memory. Break it up into smaller bite sized chunks for easier memorization. For instance maybe you decide to memorize Psalm 23 as a whole chapter. You would begin with verse one or verse one and two to start off your memory work. As you add a verse each day then repeat what you have already committed to memory before you add on your newest verses.
It is good to be in God’s Word on a regular basis if you want to begin hiding it into your heart. An excellent way to do that is to know what the Word says about who you are in Christ. These Five Amazing Promises to Stand On help you know how to know exactly who Jesus says that you are in Him. When you know who you are in Christ then you want to learn more Scripture verses of truth to hide in your heart.
Partnering to Make Scripture Memory Simple
The last method for making Scripture memory surprisingly simple is to say the memory verses out loud. Decide that you will memorize Scripture with a partner and the two of you repeat your memory verses together. There is something about accountability and healthy competition that motivate us to do our very best work.
.The three ways to make Scripture memory surprisingly simple are to write a focus verse on an index card, begin with small sections of Scripture and partner with a friend. By starting with these three simple steps you will find yourself quickly off to hiding God’s Word in your heart. What are methods that you have found that work for you to learn Scripture?