One essential Christian discipline is memorizing scripture.
Right up there with fasting, it is one Christian discipline that is most often neglected.
Once we finish school, the last thing we want to do is have to memorize more information. Our brain is tired, we just want to let it rest.
However, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we are always memorizing something: song lyrics, sports statistics, essential information to help us in our career.
In my post 4 Tips for Memorizing Scripture, I talk about why memorizing scripture is so important.
In fact, I said this
Satan always has a strategy. His strategy was to manipulate scripture to fit his agenda. He made it sound logical enough that you wouldn’t even realize that he had manipulated its meaning to fit a purpose God never intended.
And his strategy hasn’t changed in 2,000 years. Same strategy, different scenario, different verses. But Jesus had a strategy, too. Actually, Jesus had the exact same strategy. He used Satan’s own strategy to defeat him. He used scripture, in it’s pure form, to completely lay bare the deception of Satan!
But He was only able to do this in the moment of temptation because He had committed scripture to memory.
And its true.
If we want to effectively thwart the strategy of Satan, we must know God’s Word, because his most common weapon is to twist God’s Word to make it say something it doesn’t.
He does this to appeal to our carnal desires and plant in us a justification to violate God’s Word…..and use God’s Word to support our sin and disobedience.
But Scripture memorization has another use as well.
Memorizing God’s Word renews our mind. I wrote about this in my Ephesians study in a post titled, The Importance of Renewing Your Mind.
In that post I talked about the dangers of just letting our minds wander. We often do that when doing menial tasks, like cleaning the house, folding laundry, or driving.
3 Easy Ways to Memorize Scripture
Have you ever noticed that our minds never “wander” to godly things?
A mind that is not renewed will wander into sin 99% of the time!
This is why Scripture memorization is so important. Hiding God’s Word in our heart begins to renew those sinful areas of our mind and it creates new mental habits so that when the enemy attacks us in our thoughts, we can immediately resist him with God’s Word.
Not with logic. Not with psychology. Not with negotiation. With God’s Word!
1. Write the verse or passage down on index cards.
Index cards are some of my most favorite things. They are easy to carry around with you, so you can take your scripture with you wherever you go.
While waiting in the check out line or at the doctor’s office, you can easily pull them out and review the verses you are memorizing.
2. Put the passage or verse to music.
Music is one of the easiest ways we can memorize.
If you’re not musically inclined, Seeds Family Worship has an entire set of CDs that are Scripture verses set to music. You can get CDs on a certain topic, like courage or faith.
3. Use hand motions.
I have found that this helps me tremendously. Using bits of sign language and hand motions, I can easily commit an entire passage to memory.
In the video below, I show you how my toddler, who was barely verbal, was able to learn Ephesians 6:1, using hand motions.
Get my 30-Day Prayer Challenge for Renewing the Mind today. In this prayer challenge you get 30 verses on renewing the mind, space to write out the verse or application from the verse and a prayer to the Lord.
Get 20% off with the coupon code: renew
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Kathleen says
I have just started memorizing scripture and it’s slow going. What I’ve been doing is looking up scripture on my phone and screenshoting it OR if I find one I like while on computer I take a photo of it and then when I walk to the school to pick up my kids I look at my phone and repeat a part of it over and over and over and then work on the next part and then add them together etc. I’m only looking at phone a few times if I get stuck or to get the next part so I’m not walking while my head is in my phone or anything.
I also found a desktop background of the passage I was learning and put that on my computer so I see it there too.
Rosilind says
I never thought of screen shotting and using your phone as a way to help memorize! Great idea!!!
Usher Nakitto says
Excellent and very helpful article. Stumbled upon this one in my quest for Biblical Meditation info. Thank you so much Rosilind, for the article and the grace filled wisdom therein.
Rosilind says
Oh – I’m so glad that it led you here.