Why and How to Memorize Scripture

Memorizing scripture was not a part of my childhood in the church—I didn't know anyone who did it, and no one suggested that I try it. As a young adult, then, when I encountered fellow Christians who had been memorizing scripture for years (and had the verses on the tips of their tongues to show for it), I was both intrigued and intimidated. 

Over the years, my intimidation has faded—and my enthusiasm has grown—as I've seen that anyone can memorize scripture, and that there are really good reasons to do so. Today, I'm sharing it all with you: both the motivation behind committing verses to memory, and practical ways to actually make it happen. Let's dive in!

Why Memorize Scripture?

The best reason to memorize scripture is because God tells us to! In places like Proverbs 7:1-3 and Deuteronomy 6:6-9, the Biblical authors encourage us to read, meditate on, and keep the words of scripture close. 

"My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 7:1-3)

In Jesus, we also see an example of someone who clearly valued scripture and had spent considerable amounts of time committing it to memory. We can never go wrong doing as He did.

Here are a few other reasons to memorize scripture:

To preach to ourselves

Life is hard. The world can often feel sad, broken, and confusing. The Bible gives us a way to understand brokenness and sadness as part of a larger (really good!) story, but if we don't continually turn to it, it's easy to forget. Other voices (social media, pundits, the people around us) are often so much louder.

When we memorize scripture, we tether ourselves to what's true. When we run up against hard things or find ourselves discouraged or disillusioned, we can preach to ourselves from the source of truth right in the moment. His Word brings us encouragement, hope, and strength when we need it.

To train our brains in right responses

Life is also full of hard choices! Every day, we face constant decisions about how to do our work, treat the people around us, and spend our time. Left to our own devices, we'll often choose what feels easiest or most comforting in the moment—even if we know it's not ultimately for our good. 

When we memorize scripture, it's easier to make good decisions, because God's Word tells us the way that life works best. When we read and memorize scripture, it shapes and transforms us. As Paul wrote in Timothy 3, all Scripture is useful for "teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." In the moment, knowing scripture can help us to live out our callings as parents, colleagues, bosses, friends, and siblings. We will be able to do more of the things that we are meant to do and that will bring us meaning and satisfaction.

To encourage and serve the people around us

While memorizing scripture is worth doing for our own benefit, God doesn't stop there. His desire for us is to encourage and serve the people around us, and one way He'll do it is by giving us the words someone else needs at just the right moment. (Of course, to be ready, we need to have already stored those words away!)

Just like memorizing scripture helps tether us to what's true, we can lend its strength to other people. We can encourage our kids, our friends, our parents, our siblings, our colleagues, and anyone else that crosses our path with wisdom, encouragement, or truth when they really need it. We never know when we might need to make a withdrawal from our scripture bank, so it's wise to regularly make deposits.

To fight cognitive decline

Isn't this kind of God? In recent years, more and more research reveals memory work—this thing God asked us to do so many years ago!—has startling benefits. In particular, it increases neural plasticity, or the ability to learn new skills and ideas, recover from traumatic injuries, and fight cognitive decline. The spiritual benefits are compelling, yes, but as it turns out, so are the scientific ones.

How to Memorize Scripture:

Just like habit formation, there are many ways to make scripture stick. The best one is the one you'll consistently use. As always, start small. Here are a few ideas on how to get started! 

Write out the verse

You know we love this one! Part of the reason Write the Word® journals were created was to help users memorize scripture. When we write something out in our own hand, it sinks in more deeply and stays with us longer. Choose any theme that speaks to you and begin writing out scripture with your pen of choice!

(And if you have a goal to memorize an entire book of the Bible, may we recommend Write the Word® | Colossians? You'll write out every verse page by page, making it easier to memorize larger passages.)

Make flash cards

To quiz yourself on new verses and recall previous verses you've memorized, try index cards on a ring. For study purposes, write out the first letter of a each word in a verse on the front and the full text on the back. (For example, Psalm 103:1—“Let all that I am praise the Lord; With my whole heart, I will praise his holy name"—would be LATIAPTL;WMWHIWPHHN.)

You can also try writing out the letters in pen on your palm and glancing at it throughout the day or taping up index cards where you'll see them as you move through your routines.

Repeat the verse out loud

This is my most effective tactic, and one I learned in college when I had to memorize the first 18 lines of The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. Our professor encouraged us to simply read the text out loud several times every day. Sure enough, by the time a few weeks had passed, I had memorized the whole thing.

Now, if there's something I want to memorize, I'll type it out in a note on my phone. Sometimes I'll set a reminder on my phone to recite at a certain point each day. In other seasons, I'll just reach for it in down moments, like when I'm waiting to pick up a child.

Sing along to a song

What a gift—there are SO many talented artists putting scripture to song these days! Many are aimed at kids, but that doesn't make them any less valuable to the follower intent on memorizing scripture. Our brains latch on to anything set to music, and singing along feels like a treat rather than a chore. A few artists we love who set whole passages of scripture to music: Jon Guerra, Ellie Holcomb, Slugs and Bugs, Jess Ray, The Lockwoods, The Corner Room, and Caroline Cobb.

Do it with a group

Last year, my church community group committed to memorizing Psalm 23 together— kids and parents—and it really fired me up! We kept it simple: once a week, we recited it together, out loud, when we gathered. (Our family also recited it together at bedtime for some extra practice.) After a few weeks we all had it memorized, and best of all we had done it together. Accountability is a well-known habit formation hack; it's even sweeter when put to use for faithful purposes.

We'd love to hear: Have you tried memorizing scripture? Do you have a favorite passage or technique to share? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. Looking for more on spiritual disciplines? Here are seven to try this year!