Scripture Memory

Psalm 119:11

"I have treasured your word in my heart

so that I may not sin against you."

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As you consider ways to redeem this time, let me encourage you to include scripture memory in your strategies to grow in godliness. Scripture is the chief tool of the Holy Spirit to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in righteousness so that we are equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That’s why we center our lives, both privately and as a church, around God’s word. But most temptations and trials don’t arrive while we have our Bibles open on our laps. That’s when the spiritual disciplines of memorization and meditation benefit us most. 

Donald Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (available on the bookstall and for delivery by Terry Irwin’s team) illustrates this well: 

“The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, but if there is no Bible physically accessible to you, then the weapon of the Word must be present in the armory of your mind for the Spirit to wield it. Imagine yourself in the midst of a decision and needing guidance, or struggling with a difficult temptation and needing victory. The Holy Spirit enters your mental arsenal and looks around for available weapons, but all he finds is a John 3:16, a Genesis 1:1, and a Great Commission. Those are great swords, but not made for every battle.”

In fact, all of the elements of the Christian life are strengthened when our hearts are overflowing with the treasury of God’s word. Our evangelism is clearer to us and our listeners when verses from the Romans Road are quickly called to our lips. We are better at building up the body and quicker to do the “one anothers” when we’ve been disciplined to repeat those to ourselves and others over and over. Even prayer is improved when we repeat God’s promises and truths back to him. That’s why the back of the directory is filled with passages you can pray (and memorize!) as you lift up fellow members.

The Lord has used scripture memory in tremendous ways in my own life. The summer that Caroline and I met we did an internship at UBC that required us to memorize more than 50 verses. Even now, fifteen years later, not a week goes by that we don’t quote Philippians 2, Galatians 5, or 2 Timothy 3 to one another, ourselves, or others.

Everyone thinks they are bad at scripture memory. Medical constraints can make scripture memory impossible for some believers, but for the majority of us, it’s more a matter of discipline. If you can tell me the starting lineup for the Razorbacks, the ingredients in a pie, your coworkers' names, or the melody of your favorite tune, then you can memorize scripture. You just need a plan for what verses to memorize, a method of repetition that fits, a system of accountability, and a pattern of review.

Plan the verses you want to memorize

There are two typical strategies. First, you can use a topical system. This is especially helpful if you're wanting to memorize passages that address a specific topic (evangelism, hope, sexual purity, etc.), or if you're needing to build up a broad base of scriptures in your arsenal. Longtime UBC members, Wayne and Mildred Summers, have developed an ingenious system that uses index cards. They would love to share their system and lists of verses with you. 

I have also benefited greatly from a second strategy, which is to memorize longer sections of scripture. It has been a sweet way for me to meditate on scripture over extended periods of time. Isaiah 53, Psalm 103, Philippians 2, and John 15 are all wonderful places to start. It takes longer to memorize big chunks and requires different strategies. That’s where finding a method of repetition, accountability, and review can really help.

Find a method of repetition

Everything we memorize, from movie lines to bank account numbers, is aided by repetition. For some folks this just means reading something over and over again. That’s where index cards or a digital equivalent are helpful. I recommend using the app “Fighter Verse” developed by Desiring God. The app includes lots of tactile learning games that bury God’s word even deeper. I have found that writing or typing out my longer passages again and again is also very helpful. Others use audio Bibles or recordings of themselves. The albums put out by Slugs and Bugs have made scripture memory almost subconscious for my kids (and their parents).

A note on kids: children are fantastic memorizers, especially those who can’t read yet. I’ve been blown away to hear our two-year-old quote verse after verse. Don’t worry that they don’t understand all of the ramifications of the verses they are memorizing (because you don’t either). Trust that the Lord will open up those petals later. For now, just faithfully fill their hearts with seeds. I have found my kids are particularly apt at memorizing narrative passages like Luke 2 and Genesis 1. We review our verses on the way to school or around the breakfast table.

Have a system of accountability and review

Including others in this process is often necessary for success. As an added bonus, it’s also a great way to disciple and edify others. Set a regular time when you’re going to quote your verse, word-perfectly, to someone else. If you’re memorizing long passages, I suggest quoting all the accumulated verses up to that day instead of just the newest one. This helps drag those verses out of your short-term memory and store them in your long-term memory. David Covington, another UBC member, says that scripture memory is all about the long game. Don’t try to go too fast because you might give up. But if you stick with it and chip away, you’ll be amazed at how much you can memorize in a year.

Then plan to revisit those verses regularly. Pull the swords out of the armory and make sure they’re still polished and useful. I have found that quoting them to myself as I fall asleep (or to my toddler as he tries to go back to sleep at 2:00 AM) to be useful. Worst case, I fall asleep thinking of scripture. Best case, I review lots of God’s truths. David has attached his scripture memory to other disciplines in his life, like jogging. He reviews old verses and drills himself on new verses on the streets around his neighborhood.

It may be that you’ll have lots of extra time on your hands over the next few weeks. Why not fill that time with God’s word? It may be that the next few weeks will be filled with extra trials and temptations. Why not prepare for and combat those with scripture memory? 

We’d love to know what you’re doing. What passages have helped you that you would suggest others memorize? What tools or strategies have been useful? What are you memorizing now and who is helping? Leave your comments below so we can all grow in this together.

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~ written by Cole Penick