Thots on Bible Memory

I've been thinking about getting back to memorizing Bible verses as a part of my daily spiritual life.  It is something that, when done properly, adds to the depth of the relationship with Jesus Christ, helps in time of need or temptation, and increases our hunger for the Word and things of God.  But like anything worth doing, it takes work.  And work is, these days, too often all the deterrent needed to keep Americans from accomplishing important things. 

 

I've memorized literally thousands of verses, but my wife has done entire chapters of the Bible, one verse at a time.  Her dad taught her that.  It is possible to memorize all the verses on a subject or keyword.  One may memorize all the verses referring to salvation, or heaven, or hell, grace, peace, or any subject.  One may be facing a particular issue in life, and so may choose to memorize verses that pertain to that.  Whatever the purpose or motivation for the verse choice, the practice will enable us to become better Christians moment by moment. 

 

I've also heard hundreds of excuses.  Here's a few of the most common:

1. It takes too much time.
2. It is just head-work.
3. It is too hard for my old thinker.
4. I don't understand what I'm memorizing.

I'd like to address each quickly. 

 

• I believe that we waste a lot of good memorizing time sitting at red lights fussing about the wait, or standing in line at Wal-Mart.
• I believe that in the process of memorizing the verses, we are actually thinking about its meaning and it is sinking into our hearts.
• I believe that the process of memorizing verses will come easier with practice.

These replies are all from experience.  Try it and see how much of the Bible you can memorize by taking a verse a week.  52 verses over a year is a great start.  As you practice, you'll find the verses working into your lives, into your hearts, and helpful to you each day.  After a year you'll be finding yourself successfully memorizing the verses in about 2 or 3 days rather than 7.  You'll want more verses each week to keep you going.

 

Try it and see.  But commit to a month (4 weeks) of daily memory verse practice.  Then let me know how your life is.