Memorizing Scripture

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Memorizing Scripture

It’s important for all Christians to have the Word of God hidden in their hearts. However, just as with witnessing, we all know we should do it, but we often don’t know how. There are a number of ways to memorize the Word of God. The following is one suggestion, and is the method I use.

The Incremental Index Card Method

On a 3″ x 5″ index card, write out the memory verse. On the top left, write a topic to categorize the verse, and on the top right, record the verse reference. Place the reference again under the verse. Read the verse two or three times out loud. Pay attention to the sound of the verse, and listen for any helpful memory aids, such as words in alphabetical order.

As you begin to memorize the verse, say the Topic > Reference > Verse > Reference, one portion at a time. Here’s an example:

God’s Love > Romans 5:8 > “But God demonstrates His own love” > Romans 5:8
God’s Love > Romans 5:8 > “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:” > Romans 5:8
God’s Love > Romans 5:8 > “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners” > Romans 5:8
God’s Love > Romans 5:8 > “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” > Romans 5:8

Repeat each phrase until you can correctly quote everything up to that point. Then repeat the whole thing a few more times to get it lodged in your memory. Quote it throughout the day:

God’s Love
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

TIP You may also find it helpful to record, on the reverse side of the card, what the verse means to you and your meditations on the verse.

SOBE Scripture Memory Cards – Make your own set

These scripture memory cards cover every memory verse in the 101 lessons of the School of Biblical Evangelism. The School wishes to thank Logan Howe for this idea, and his volunteer work on these cards.

Instructions:

Download the file containing the Scripture Memory Cards by clicking here, and save it onto your computer.
Use your unzip utility to decompress the file. (If you don’t have one, you can freely download ZipReader for Windows; Mac is built-in.)
Open the file in your PDF Viewer (Adobe Acrobat Reader or Preview for Mac).
Print the file in landscape mode onto card stock (you will need 27 sheets). You must print it in landscape mode, and you may need to check the “scale to fit” box on your print options. The cards are designed as 3″ x 5″ cards… but since some printers have larger margins, the “scale to fit” option may be forced to shrink your cards a little bit in order to get all four of them onto the page.
Cut the cards apart, and memorize!

The cards at the end of the file can be used to sort the cards into groups for review on specific days of the week.

TIP You may also like to use a hole punch in the corner where the circle is marked so that you can put your cards onto metal organizing rings rather than just binding them with a rubber band.

The Most Important Step: Review

It’s very easy to memorize Scripture. It’s not quite as easy, however, to remember what you memorized last week . . . or even three days ago—not to mention what you memorized six months ago.

Carry them with you

To help you recall them, you may want to carry about twenty verses with you. After you have begun memorizing each new verse, add it to a keyring. Review these verses daily during your quiet time, as well as when you stand in line, eat lunch, wait at a traffic light, etc.—anytime you have a free minute, you can quickly review one or two verses.

Organize them

If you purchase an index card box and dividers, it will help you greatly (of course, you can make your own storage device if these are not available). Label the dividers as follows:

Once you have about twenty cards on your keyring, remove the first one, which should now be well-memorized, and place it behind “Sunday.” With the next verse you add to your keyring, remove the oldest, and place it behind “Monday.” Do this with each new verse you add, removing the oldest, putting it in the next day of the week. Now, every Sunday, take out the cards for “Sunday” and review them. On Monday, get the cards for “Monday.” Each day of the week, you will now be reviewing the twenty verses that you carry with you, plus a new set of verses previously memorized. This will help the verses to become firmly lodged in your memory.

Find a Friend

You may want to find a friend to help you practice reviewing your verses. As you recite each verse, your friend can make sure you say the complete verse and reference correctly.