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How to Get Started on Memorizing a Book of the Bible
Making the Commitment Before God
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Paul said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:27, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” Memorizing individual verses tends to miss less well-known verses that we might not feel are as significant. If we continue to focus only on our favorite passages of Scripture, we may overlook something new that God wants to say to us through a neglected portion of his word. God does not speak any word in vain, and no passages of Scripture are superfluous.
Also, since much of Scripture is written to make a rational argument, the flow of thought is missed if only individual verses are memorized. But memorizing entire books verse by verse enables one to go easily from the trees (details) to the forest (big picture) and back again. This person will be able to tell you the overall flow of the book of Galatians, for example, as well as how each paragraph fits into this flow, and how each verse contributes to each paragraph. Thus, there is far less likelihood of taking verses out of context when entire books are memorized.
To get started, go to the Lord in prayer and ask him specifically how he wants you to invest time in Scripture memorization. Listen to him, confident that he will guide you. Once you have that sense from God, ask him humbly for help from the Holy Spirit. Ask him to protect you from spiritual pride, for God hates pride in every form (see Isa. 2:6–22; Luke 18:9–14). Although knowledge of the Bible is absolutely essential to spiritual maturity, such knowledge without love for God and neighbor “puffs up” a person (1 Cor. 8:1), is useless to God, and harms the church. Humbly make the commitment before God that you will invest time in Scripture memorization. Later, after you choose your book to memorize, you can make a written covenant before God concerning your commitment if that would be helpful for you.
How to Memorize Scripture for Life
Andrew M. Davis
Through his years of experience in extended Scripture memorization, Andrew M. Davis helps readers commit to studying God’s word so they may grow in holiness, resist temptation, and share the gospel with lost people.
Choosing Your First Book
The next step is to choose the book. This, too, should be done with prayer and a sense of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some practical concerns should guide your choice as well:
Not Too Long
Your first book should not be too long, lest you get discouraged along the way and give up. The greatest obstacle to a fruitful harvest in this arena is simply giving up. We abandon a course of action usually because the way seems too long and we feel that we lack the strength for the rest of the journey. Just as one who someday wants to finish a marathon does not begin training by simply running 26.2 miles but rather must work up to that level, so also with extended Scripture memorization. You must get the discipline deeply rooted in your daily habits, and you must develop your memory skills before you can attempt a really long book. Start with a book from 90 to 160 verses long. That is the range of most of the New Testament epistles. My opinion is that these epistles provide the best starting place since they give a lavish return for a relatively small investment. For people I mentor, I always start them in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians—155 verses with lots of deep theology and practical Christian living.
Stirs Your Passions
Choose a book that God has used in the past to minister to you, and that you think would be most useful in your personal walk with Christ and in your ministry to others. You should also choose a book that still holds some mysteries for you to discover (as all Scripture does, of course) and that you foresee as an adventure in learning. After you have assessed your options, bring these before the Lord in prayer and ask him to direct your choice.
Humbly make the commitment before God that you will invest time in Scripture memorization.
Surveying the Terrain
The next step is to survey the entire book for length and assess how quickly you can memorize it. Perhaps you can start at one verse per day, six days per week. I recommend taking one day off per week to keep from getting burned out or to take up the slack for days in which you are sick or exceptionally busy. Here’s an approach to surveying the terrain:
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Count the total number of verses in the entire book.
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Divide that total number by the number of verses you will memorize per week. The answer is how many weeks the book should take you.
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Look at a calendar and determine a tentative finish date.
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If needed, add 10 percent so that you don’t feel under too much pressure until you get used to this practice. For example, if you choose to memorize Ephesians, 155 verses at the rate of 6 verses per week will take you 26 weeks (or about 6 months). Adding 10 percent—that is, about 3 weeks—will give you a total of 29 weeks.
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Optional: Make a covenant before the Lord that, with his help, you will memorize this book by this date. For example: “Lord, having sought you in prayer, I believe that you have led me to memorize (name of the book). I now dedicate myself to begin this task with your help and for your glory. I commit myself to memorizing this by (date).” Sign and date the covenant. Put it in a place where you can refer to it regularly when the times get tough.
The purpose of surveying the terrain is to mark out a reasonable pace that will make achievement of your goal a probability. It will show you how much you need to memorize every day and when you should finish. The covenant provides a practical help to encourage you to persevere.
This article is adapted from How to Memorize Scripture for Life: From One Verse to Entire Books by Andrew M. Davis.
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