Surely, you know by memory songs, poems, tongue twisters, proverbs, jokes, the plot of your favorite movie, book, or novel. If you can begin to review all the things you know by heart, stop for a moment and think about how you are doing to memorize the Bible.
If necessary, give yourself a score between 1 and 5. One means that you do not know any verses by memory, and 5 means that you know many verses’ word for word and where it is found. No matter what score you give yourself, it is imperative that we be intentional about developing our memorization of the Bible.
Why and how can you start to memorize the bible?
Both in the Old and New Testaments we are called to keep, treasure, record, abide and meditate on the Word, since it is in it that we will receive everything we need to live a life that glorifies the Lord. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) If you want to read a little more about the reasons for memorizing Scripture, I recommend reading this article by John Piper.
The reality is that if we can memorize stories and songs, why won’t we spend time to memorize the Bible, which is the Word of life and the source of our knowledge of God. First, you must pray for the Lord to put in you a desire and hunger to know more of His Word.
Then choose which verses you are going to memorize. You can look up memory verse plans or lists if you need a place to start. I usually select the verses that impact me the most from the preaching at my local church, my devotional reading, or while preparing to teach the children’s or women’s studies.
I want to share with you seven ways or techniques that I have used to work in this area. Although I have gotten better at memorizing the Bible, this year I have decided to be even more intentional and make these exercises part of my daily quiet time. To record your practices, you can use a notebook, your bible, or loose sheets of paper. I will be using this digital notebook to keep all my notes and practices throughout the year.
7 ways to memorize the Bible
1. Listen to the verse multiple times.
The simplest way to do this is to read the verse out loud. You can also check in your bible app if they have the audio version. Change the volume of your voice, whisper, etc. After several times of reading it, reduce the time you look at your note, bible, or notebook until you can recite it from memory.
2. Write the verse
You can use this technique in various ways, write it once a day or multiple times a day, doing it will help you connect the words with the muscle memory of writing it. It doesn’t have to be lettering style (although if you can do it, go ahead) the important thing is to spend time writing the words. I use a digital planner (on my iPad) and I write it several times in different ways even if it doesn’t look very beautiful, it helps me to memorize and create a visual memory of the verse.
3. Meditate on the verse or passage.
Take some time to clarify words you don’t understand or look up synonyms, this will help you understand better what you are reading. Understand the context where the verse is part of. We want to memorize the Scriptures, not just to recite them, but to understand them, apply them and share them. Although in this process you are not working directly, memorization it will help you remember it.
4. Cover or remove words
Get the most out of your visual memory. While teaching elementary school children, I discovered how efficient this technique is. After reading and discussing the verse, we would write it on the board, on pieces of paper, or on cards. After reading it, we would start erasing or removing cards, which they had to fill in audibly as if it were a fill-in-the-blank. The idea is that you keep removing or covering up words until they are all gone, and you can say the entire verse from memory.
5. Draw or create a mental image
My drawing skills are not the best, but using even simple elements to represent the main idea of ??the text helps us remember the words. Another way you can use your drawing or image is as a prompt to say the verse. For example, if the verse to memorize is Luke 4:4, Jesus replied: «It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone”. Every time you see a piece of bread, you can remember and practice the verse.
6. Journaling
Whether it’s in a notebook, in the margin of your Bible, or like me on the iPad, write about what you learned from the verse. Write your response in prayer, what you have learned from God, what has confronted or comforted you. Like meditation, this exercise will help you memorize in a more practical and relevant way. In addition, it will help you when exhorting or encouraging your brothers and sisters.
7. Color the words
I do this, particularly when the verse is long or when it is more than one verse. Color or write on paper\cards of different colors the phrases of the verse. Again, this will give you a visual aid by assigning colors to the words, you will be able to see the colors first and then the words.
What will you start doing today to memorize the Bible?
You can combine these techniques in the same practice session or use them on different days. The important thing is that you take the time to memorize the Bible, not to check off a list of verses you’ve learned or show off your achievements to others. But to encourage yourself to remain in the Word of God and that in moments of joy or difficulty your mind would be filled with his word.
Share in the comments what techniques have been useful for you to memorize the word. I would like to accompany you in your progress, use #keepingyourword and in your social media posts to encourage each other.
