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4 Tips for Memorizing God's Word

July 29, 2014 by: Gloria Furman

The Truth

Whether you feel like you are wandering aimlessly through life in a misty fog, or the sandy foundation you thought was firm is currently being blown to a billion pieces, or you are confident that you are grounded on an unshakeable rock, you need to be reminded of the Truth. We all do.

God is Truth and he speaks truth only. He was pleased to breathe out his holy Scripture and his Word carries with it his incontestable authority. It is impossible to have too high of a regard for the Bible.

With such faith-full convictions like these, it’s no wonder that Bible memory is such a yearned-for spiritual discipline. And with such a distraction-saturated world like the one we live in, it’s no wonder that Bible memory so often eludes us.

But what if we flipped our so-called distractions on their head like a preschooler turning somersaults and focused on how these things can actually serve us in our Bible memory efforts?

1. Pray It

Are you faced with a situation that grieves you? Circumstances that frustrate you to no end? Things that make you feel like there’s no point to life? Seize the opportunity to pray through the Scripture that you have memorized. Pray the words that the Spirit divinely authored. You never know when those verses you have memorized will lead you to prayer, comfort you as you pray, and instruct you in your prayers as the Lord intended them to do.

Pray the words that the Spirit divinely authored.

2. Announce It

How many times have you had an opportunity to share the gospel and felt frustrated by a loss for words? When we memorize verses about the gospel, we will become better prepared to announce the gospel. Since faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ, we can take seemingly outlandish confidence that the verses we have memorized explicitly concerning the Good News (and other verses!) will be of unparalleled benefit to our hearers. Taking opportunities to announce the gospel as the Spirit leads also drives God’s Word deeper into our own hearts.

3. Sing It

Do you need to hear something that is “music to your soul”? There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that were written so God’s people could sing them. Some modern musicians have even put lots of other verses to music in really enjoyable arrangements. On one memorable day this year, God steadied my heart as I sang with my kids in the car, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name” (Ps. 86:11). Singing Scripture on different occasions is one more way that our circumstances can serve our Scripture memory.

4. Teach It

Scripture doesn’t “come alive” when it is skillfully taught because it already is “living and active” (Heb. 4:12). God’s Word is what makes us come alive! Dive deep into the study of the Bible and talk about what you’re learning with other women, and see how the God’s Word gets stamped indelibly on your own heart. When we take the passages we’ve memorized and explain them to others, defend them to skeptics, and talk about how we are applying them to our lives, the Word not only edifies those who listen, but it also works in us.

Instead of drawing us away from remembering what God has said in the Bible, we can see our circumstances as gifts to help us store up his Word in our hearts.

Gloria Furman

Gloria Furman (MACE, Dallas Theological Seminary) lives in the Middle East where her husband, Dave, serves as the pastor of Redeemer Church of Dubai. She is the author of many books, including Labor with Hope; Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full; and Glimpses of Grace.

 

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