15. Memorizing Scripture is a discipline that can be helpful in my relationship with God.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
Is Bible memorization something that you do regularly?
If so, have you found it meaningful?Do you sometimes feel guilty for not memorizing more passages from the Bible?
What are the obstacles that would, or do, keep you from memorizing Scripture passages?
Memorizing verses in the Bible is a common practice for many Christians and church programs. Scripture memorization has been confirmed by countless Christians as something that deeply affected and improved their spiritual journey. When we read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, we see how often Jesus quoted from the Old Testament. We can assume that He wasn’t reading from a scroll so He must have memorized much of the Old Testament.
Memorization had been practiced long before Jesus. David writes, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law, day and night. (1:2, NIV). To be able to meditate day and night on God’s law one would need to have memorized it. When Moses gave Israel God’s law he said,6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, NIV).
The message of Scripture is intended not just to inform us but to transform us and to lead us into a relationship with God. For this to happen, we simply must know and be familiar with the words of God as recorded in Scripture. So how does memorizing Scripture help this happen? There are at least three ways:
1. Our memory works closely with our behaviors. A habit is simply a behavior that has occurred often enough with the help of memory so that it no longer requires memory. As we memorize important truths and verses from the Bible, this information can guide our behaviors so we act according to what we know from Scripture, potentially creating healthy habits.
2. In times of stress or anxiety, relevant verses can serve to reduce our stress and anxiousness. By simply recalling and reminding ourselves of what we know to be true from God, we are better prepared to face uncertainty. Classic saints practiced a form of prayer that repeated short passages from Scripture over and over. These, “breath prayers” were reported to have profound impact on many people. (A delightful book about this is The Way of a Pilgrim, a 19th century Russian work that has been translated into English.)
3. A third way that memorization helps us in our spiritual life is when the words we have memorized take on the “voice” of God. When we repeat Jesus’ words to His disciples, I am the way the truth and the life (John 14:6 NIV), we may actually hear Him saying this to us. There are many places where the words Jesus as recorded in Scripture can speak directly to us if we only have these words in our memory: Go in peace and be healed of your diseases (Mark 5:34 ,NIV); I have come that they [you] may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10, NIV); Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest, (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
The Old Testament also is full of verses that can easily become God’s voice to us: Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:1-5, NIV). Perhaps the most memorized, most encouraging and most God-like voice in the Bible is Psalm 23. Having a rich repository of memorized verses will play an important part in our developing relationship with God, and in our journey with Jesus here on earth.
Here are a few simple suggestions that may be helpful; 1. Choose verses that speak to you, your situation in life, and your desires and longings. 2. Don’t “over-perform.” That is, don’t make it a competition; keep it simple and memorize short passages that are relevant. 3. Schedule times to repeat what you have memorized, perhaps during your quiet time or other alone time with God; use what you have memorized as a “conversation starter” with God.
Create habits of repeating what you have memorized in times where your mind is not active; while showering, brushing teeth, driving in the car, riding on the bus, or standing in the check-out line. 4. Finally, don’t let it become a burden, obligation, or something that makes you proud. If you sense this happening, take a break and return to a practice of memorizing only when you sense a desire or urge to resume..