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Scripture Memorization: A Personal Testimony

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The Experiences I Have Had with Memorizing Scripture

I remember the Scripture memory contests in Sunday School when I was a child.  I recall many times cramming right before class so I could go in, say the verse and get the prize.  And, that is as far as my memory goes on those verses.  I also remember times when teachers were more creative in their approach and made it fun to learn the verses.  We did it together, in class, sometimes for prizes but often not.  Those are the verses I still remember.

Consequently when I began teaching children’s classes, and writing lesson plans incorporating Scripture memorization, like Children Learn to Worship using Psalm 100, I wanted to do it in ways that built positive attitudes toward memorizing Bible verses.

Ten helpful principles for teachers to do that are in the Effective Scripture Memorization Worksheet.

As I grew older physically into adulthood but also spiritually, I began to memorize verses that related to my life situations, sort of as a spiritual discipline, but more because I simply wanted to know them.  I memorized for the intrinsic value of it, not for some extrinsic reward.  What a difference!

The Means I Have Used to Memorize Verses

I have found that variety works best for me.  And I like to have fun doing it.  Why can’t memorizing Scripture be fun?  I do believe the best way to memorize Scripture is to do what fits you … your learning style, your personality, etc.  I’ll give some ideas in another post for how adults can memorize Scripture.

But, let me say that what helps me the most, and what I believe we all need to do, is to understand the meaning of the passage and not merely memorize the words. And, of course, much repetition and review has also been necessary.

The True Rewards I Have Received Because of Scripture Memorization

Scripture Memorization - God's Word in My HeartAs a result of having God’s Word in my heart through memorization, I have had an arsenal in times of spiritual warfare (Matt. 4:1-11, Eph. 6:10-17).  But, even through the course of every day life experiences, especially the tough ones, these verses will come to mind and bring the comfort, encouragement, or conviction I need in the moment.  At times, it has been instrumental in keeping me from sinning against an awesome and holy God (Ps. 119:11).  I have found these verses coming to mind when talking one-on-one with people or when teaching in the classroom setting in response to questions.  This recall has been a great tool in ministering to others when I either did not have a Bible handy or did not have time to search for answers.  And, sometimes when I am laying in bed at night and can’t sleep, I can meditate on God’s Word in the darkness without a Bible in hand.  What a blessed time that can be!

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2 Replies to “Scripture Memorization: A Personal Testimony”

  1. Today I attended a workshop for math teachers where I heard many teachers bemoaning the fact that they have so many students who seem to retain so little math that they presumably learned in previous grades. It is an almost universal teacher complaint. And it got me thinking. Perhaps you have been to a Bill Gothard Institute in Basic Life Principles (formerly the Institute for Basic Youth Conflicts ). You may, or may not, have agreed with all his points. But you probably remember his personal testimony regarding his high school grades. His sister was two or three years older than he was, and was an excellent student. When he got to high school, he remembered her groaning, Oh, no! Bill s in high school now and he is such a bad student that he will ruin our family s reputation! Sure enough, his grades were horrible. At that point a teacher took him under his wing and encouraged him to start memorizing Scripture. At first the process was very slow and difficult. But as time went on, and Bill stuck to it, he began to find it easier to memorize. Interestingly (and probably not surprisingly), the more he memorized, the more his grades improved. Soon he was a straight A student. If you have ever made a commitment to memorize Scripture, you can probably identity with Bill Gothard. At first, it is VERY difficult and VERY slow. You have to review, review, review, and review some more. You have to memorize one little phrase at a time. And little-by-little, phrase-by-phrase, sentence-by-sentence, verse-by-verse you begin to absorb it. You have to cross a certain threshold of persistence, or the commitment will quickly fall by the wayside. It is VERY tough. BUT if you persevere, you begin to notice that you can absorb the verses a little more quickly as time goes on. It s like your memory muscle starts to shape up! Today, many students have been allowed to go through years of schooling without much memorization. Their memory muscles are weak. So, when they are presented with new material, it may stick long enough to make it through the next test, but then, like smoke, it vanishes away. If you are a student or the parent of a student why not give Scripture memory a try? You may just be very pleasantly surprised at how, over a period of time, grades start climbing! Meanwhile, filling your mind and heart with truths, promises and commands from Scripture the very Word of God sounds pretty wholesome too, doesn’t it?

    • Thank you for providing another example/testimony, Georgina. May your words of encouragement spur people on persist in their efforts to memorize Scripture!

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