More Than Just Memorization
“Let us labor to memorize the Word of God-for worship and for warfare. If we do not carry it in our heads, we cannot savor it in our hearts or wield it in the Spirit.” - John Piper
I don’t know about you, but for me, memorization isn’t the easiest spiritual discipline. It can feel laborious, tedious, and even unnecessary since I have almost instant access to the Bible (and Google) on my phone. However, recently the Lord reminded me of the value of “hiding His Word in my heart” (Psalm 119:11) as I heard the Spirit gently whisper the Word throughout my day. It looked a little like this:
I woke up with intentions of getting up early and spending time with the Lord, instead, I overslept after being up with a sick baby through the night. The Spirit whispered, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
As the day went on I got caught up in not only what I needed to do today, but what I also needed to do in the upcoming days and became overwhelmed. I heard, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).
Later, I met up with a close friend who often has different views than I do. When I started to speak out of frustration, God said, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).
Finally, as the busyness of the day slowed and I headed home, I saw the most beautiful Oklahoma sunset. My heart stirred with these words: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).
When we are faithful to memorize His Word, God is faithful to bring it to mind in the moments we need it most. Sometimes these moments are times when we need correction, and other times they are moments when we need encouragement. At both times, it is good for us and glorifying to Him to be equipped!
Not only that, but as we memorize scripture, we draw near to God, prepare ourselves for every circumstance, and shift our perspective to the eternal.
Here are a few ways you can succeed at scripture memorization:
Have a plan
Do you want to memorize one verse a week? One a month? Do you want to memorize verses on a specific topic? Or maybe from an existing list? Take a little time to set some memorization goals and then come up with actionable steps to get it done.
Stay accountable
Accountability will help you to stay on track in your scripture memorization. It’s harder to skip out when you know someone else will be asking you to recite verses. Ask a friend or join a discipleship group with this purpose in mind.
Keep it fresh
Lastly, come up with a system to keep the verses you have memorized fresh in your mind. This could be using flashcards or downloading a Scripture memorization app that sends you reminders on when it’s time to refresh a verse.
Originally published on qsbc.org/women.
