Memorizing the word of God is not just for children. As adults
it is a spiritual discipline that also nurtures our faith. Everyone is
encouraged to take these simple verses and memorize them. The reason we memorize
Scripture is that it allows us to think upon God’s word to us and reflect upon
the application in our lives. The Holy Spirit also often uses what we have
memorized to remind us at the right moment. We also encourage parents to review
these verses with their children at the dinner table. (Make it a fun thing to
do! No need to get uptight about it!) May we truly live a life under the
guidance of God’s Word!

Encouragement from History

In history, the Israelites of early centuries as well as the
monks of the middle ages memorized the entire book of psalms. (They did sing
through the entire book of psalms once a month after all!) The famous English
poet John Milton had memorized the entire Bible. This was especially meaningful
to him since he went blind in later life but then had the Scriptures always with
him even when he couldn’t read with his eyes. In places like China, during the
time when the Bible was banned, Christians would each memorize a book of the
Bible so that they could always have the Word of God in their community. They
would then teach others to memorize so that the legacy would not be lost. Talk
about an oral tradition!

The Example of Jesus

It is also rather obvious that Jesus knew the Old Testament
(the only Bible they had) by heart. He used verses of scripture to answer the
devil when he was tempted. He quoted the Scriptures and interpreted them from
rote. Even on the cross, he recited the words of the psalms. “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me,” was not a cry of despair, but the opening lines of
psalm 22. “Into your hands I commit my Spirit,” are the words of psalm 31:5. In
all occasions, Jesus’ knowledge of the Bible was not just a surface exercise but
a way of life.

How to Memorize Bible Verses

For those of you new to Bible memorization, the here is a brief
guide. Always say the reference before and after the actual passage (e.g.
“Matthew chapter twenty-eight, verse nineteen”) as this will allow you to share
the verse with another person in the future or for your own reading. Then read
and memorize the passage phrase by phrase. When you have memorized one phrase,
just add on the next one. Once you have the entire passage memorized, repeat it
throughout the day. Some people like to put it on post-it notes on their mirror
so they can test themselves in the morning or evening when they wash up. Others
like to say the verses at stop-lights. Whatever works for you is good! Generally
speaking, adding one verse a week is very doable. For most people, if they can
recite a verse every day for one month, it will enter into their long-term
memory. This means that you will have about 4 verses to review daily. A general
review of all the verses you know once a month or every two months may be
helpful.

Memory Verses

These are the verse our children are memorizing. They are
simple phrases just to get them started. You may wish to memorize the entire
verse or even the passages surrounding them.