memory

 Adults have developed many excuses to convince themselves that memorizing Bible verses isn't important (click here to read the post). Despite what we may tell ourselves, our minds have an incredible ability to remember; we simply lack the creative energy or the creative methods to make the important things stick. Let me suggest a number of ways that you can develop Bible memory like you develop muscle memory:

Use Props and Associations

When I was a child in Sunday school, the classic strategy was writing a Bible verse on the blackboard and then erasing individual words and reading the verse aloud as a group. This was effective (reading something 20+ times over 20+ minutes will do this), but it was painfully boring. Thankfully, I also remember a teacher using a head of lettuce to help us remember the beginning of Galatians 6:9 (“Let us not become weary in doing good…”). I remember another time when a racing illustration was used: On your mark, get set, “Go into all the world and preach the good news…” (Mark 16:15). Be creative in how you develop associations to the key words you're memorizing. The options are nearly limitless.

Find a Partner

Sharing your goal with another person greatly increases your chance at succeeding. When you’re working with someone to memorize Scripture, it will also provide you with a number of creative options (i.e. you can text the verse to each other during the day or develop a scoreboard to see how each of you are doing).

Involve Children

Kids are naturally creative! Ask for them for ideas for how you can remember a verse and see what they come up with (scavenger hunt anyone?).

Use Music

There’s a good chance that a musician has already developed a song from a verse you’re trying to memorize. Try googling the verse to see what comes up. You can also try writing your own song or taking an existing tune and exchanging its lyrics for the words from the verse (if you choose to do this, please upload your recording online and send me the link!). 

Make it Visible

Save the verse as your computer’s screen saver or use it as the background image for your phone. Use sticky notes on your car’s dashboard or on your mirror in the bathroom. Set up a reoccurring meeting on your online calendar and include the verse in your meeting notes.

Develop a Pattern

Memorizing Scripture used to be a staple of the Christian community. It used to be essential to teaching curriculum. It used to be a recognized mark of spiritual maturity. But I now see little evidence that adults are memorizing Scripture with any sort of regularity or urgency. Why is this? A few reasons come to my mind that are simply based on my own observations:

The Childhood Fallacy

My guess is that the vast majority of Christ followers committed verses to memory early on in their Christian walk (when they were a child or at a time close to their conversion). But this practice has a way of fading as the years go on. The sad reality is that memorizing verses is seen as a chore for children and not an essential practice for all believers. It is quite common for a church to give an ovation after a young person publicly recites a verse aloud. But it is extremely uncommon to find adults challenging other adults to memorize Scripture, even though they tell their children it’s an important exercise. 

The Psalmist teaches that blessing comes to the person who delights and meditates on the law of the Lord (Ps 1:1-3). He says that God’s Word keeps people from committing sin (Ps 119:11). And while the young are specifically addressed at times (Ps 119:9), there is no indication that this activity should be reserved for the young minded.

Categorizing Bible memorization as a childish practice is bad theology. Even worse, it devalues God’s Word. 

The Cost Is More Than We Want to Pay

Committing anything to memory requires two things: time and effort. Most people think they suffer from a lack of time, but a more truthful statement is that most people are unwilling to invest the necessary time to memorize Scripture. While God has entrusted each person with a diversity of gifts and resources, He has chosen to give all of us the same amount of time. Our lifespans will vary, but all of us are given 24 hours each day and 168 hours per week. How we use the time He entrusts to us is a stewardship issue.