How to Memorize the Scriptures

Memorizing Scripture is not just for leaders, it is a part of our discipleship as Christians. Each believer should make it a habit to not just live in God’s Word but to have God’s Word live inside of them.

4 Reasons to Memorize Scripture

1. Jesus quoted the Old Testament over 60 times. If Jesus quoted it that many times, we also should have the habit of letting Scripture flow out of our hearts.
2. Jesus defeated temptations with the Scripture. The Bible says the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Hebrews 4:12). The only way to be successful in battle is to practice using the sword often.
3. It helps us store it in our hearts. David said he hid the Word of God in his heart and this act helped him to not sin against God (Psalm 119:11).
4. It develops our memory. Our memory is a muscle that grows as it is used. The more we try and memorize Scripture, the more we will be able to.

How to Practically Begin

1. Have a plan.

Set time apart to memorize at least one verse at a time. If you make it a priority to learn one verse a week, that’s 52 verses a year. In ten years you will know 500 verses.

The most important thing is to be realistic with your plan. Do it for a year and review them constantly. As you do this, you’ll notice that your walk with the Lord will be stronger, and your ability to communicate the Gospel will also be solidified.

2. Create your own system.

Another great thing to help you memorize Scripture is to create a system that will help facilitate this process for you. Many people get stuck because they don’t know what verses to begin with or the best route to go about doing it with accountability. For some, I would recommend using notecards. It’s a simple way to see the Scriptures and have them on you.

For those who are more electronically inclined, I would recommend the Navigator Memory System. This is a simple system that will help you memorize key verses.

3. Use the Bible Memory App.

For those who prefer to use electronics, the Bible Memory App is a great tool. I personally use this and have a group of people that are on a challenge with me to memorize 100 verses this year (you can click here to join the group). I find this app useful because the application tracks how well you do when reviewing a verse, and it uses that as a determining factor for how often the verse needs to reappear on your notifications.

If you learn to leverage the time you have and invest it into the Word of God, you’ll notice that your peace will begin to grow.

Read: 100 Verses You Should Memorize

4. Memorize the verse perfectly.

Recall the verse word for word. By doing so, you ensure that you are keeping the integrity of the verses throughout time and not learning anything incorrectly.

5. Memorize the same translation.

My personal preference when memorizing Scripture is to use the NKJV. I find that this is a great and well known translation to memorize Scriptures from. For my daily reading, however, I do enjoy reading the verses in different translations.

6. Memorize in sequence.

When quoting Scripture, I find that it helps when you reference the verse, quote it, and then state the verse reference once more. This gets very useful as you begin to memorize a number of Bible verses.

For example:

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16.

7. Memorize Scripture before bed.

Take time to recite the verse you’re trying to learn before bed and once you wake up. You’ll notice that as you begin to do this, the verse will stick in your memory much more.

8. Have a form of accountability.

Another great tip is to have a partner or a friend who either does this with you or can keep you accountable as you do this. Quiz each other and even do it with your small group. However you choose to do it, one thing is for certain, people will only benefit from having the Word of God stored in their hearts.