Get Out of Your Head...

Memorization Part 1: Why we Memorize

Hello gentle reader!

I'm so glad you happened on my humble attempt at blogging my heart. I've been on a journey of making memorization accessible and interesting for several years now (post with that story coming soon!) and this is my first attempt to share the broad base of what God's been teaching me with you! The point of this article is not to guilt you into memorization (though, if that's what you need, consider this a nudge!) but rather to encourage you of the necessity, value, and ease of memorizing scripture and to give you some ideas of ways to make it enjoyable! Let's get started!

Slippery Slopes and Drowning Hopes

As for me, I've always known that memorizing scripture was a good thing to do. I've been through AWANA, done Bible Bowls, Scripture memorization challenges, and even memorized large chunks of scripture to recite in front of my church with groups; BUT (and there's always a 'but' isn't there??) so many people won't go near it. Why? Everyone has a reason--that's really an excuse--and I'll share why I've heard so many people say things like:

"I'm so busy, I don't have time."

"I'm not good at memorizing."

"It's really hard!"

"I don't know how."

"I know the important ones, like John 3:16 and Genesis 1:1. The rest I can just look up if I need them."

And a super common one nowadays--

"I have my bible/concordance/app/google, so I can find whatever verse I need when I need it. Why do I need to spend time and effort memorizing if I can look it up so easily?"

A lot of these mentalities have come from lack of exposure to effective tools (or at least, the right tools for you), remembering past failures and not wanting to try something else when "I'll only fail at that too" (LIES by the way! Shoo devil! We don't want you here!), and especially from the mindset of busyness that is so pervasive in our culture these days. To take any time at all out of our lives for scripture seems like a huge inconvenience, especially since the bible doesn't come in catchy one minute colorful clips about life hacks or recipes that look too good to be true.

Truth be told, the Bible doesn't come in short entertaining video clips because God knows what's best. It's ok, let out the collective sigh of disappointment…good. Now, refocus. No matter how much easier it is to be entertained by a video than a book, spending time on Bible videos, while they're wonderful tools, does NOT and will NEVER replace the power of spending time hiding scripture in your heart.

The Teen's Favorite Question

"Why should I?"

The short answer is: because the Bible says to!

Joshua 1:8 "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Spend time on scripture so you can attain true success…

Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

…so you know what God would have you do….

1 Peter 3:15-16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

…so you have a firm foundation when trials come and answers ready for any questions…

John 15:7 "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

…and to keep open lines of communication for the Holy Spirit to speak to you.

AND SO MANY MORE VERSES. This is by far the most important reason to memorize scripture. Bar none. The Bible is chock full of commands to hide scripture in your heart; so, when it comes down to it, any reasons not to are just excuses, since whatever God has commanded us to do, he will empower us to do, right? (If you doubt that, read Philippians 4:13) So, chuck those excuses to the side of the road and let's look at some of the reasons to memorize scripture.

Keep His Words Close...

Reason one: In order to recognize truth from lies.

By meditating on scripture, you're filling your head and your heart with the truths of God over the lies of the Enemy. So many of us struggle with letting ourselves believe lies that are commonly fed to us including lies about our appearance, what's required/expected of us, and what we should or shouldn't be doing. When we hear from the world that beauty is a physical trait, how much more should we be hearing that "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30)? When we hear that we need to teach our children a certain way or earn a certain amount of money or keep a house in such a state, it can be extremely overwhelming and discouraging. With scripture hidden in our hearts we immediately have a mighty weapon with which to combat these lies:

We have "the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". (Eph 6:17)

Reason two: Easily accessed in times of need.

Nothing is faster than a word already on the tip of your tongue (whether that's good or bad depends on what you keep there). What good is a sword if it's being kept in a glass case? What good is our bible if it's kept in a backpack or a pocket somewhere in cyberspace? What happens if your phone dies??? (Not an uncommon occurrence over here, let me tell you.) When we only keep our bible on devices or lying on our bedroom side table, we wander out into the world, get blindsided, and wonder why we feel like such fools while the world takes jabs at us and everything we believe. We wander out into a battle without armor or a sword and wonder why we get hurt.

A sword is not something that you pack up with crumpled papers and a granola bar and tuck into a knapsack. If we are ambushed, we need a weapon right by our sides, or we are left defenseless--completely susceptible to the enemy's destructive influences; and trust me, these are blows to kill (John 10:10). Our enemy is the devil and he is not just going to tap us on the shoulder and say "Excuse me, sir (or madam), I would like to challenge you to a duel. Unpack your sword. That's ok, I'll wait."

OF COURSE NOT!!!

We need to have our answers ready Like Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, so that when he does come or send his minions to attack us we are prepared with the full armor of God!

Reason three: You know what's in there when you need it.

If we leave God's word packed away, we do not only lose it's usefulness as a defense, we also lose it as a tool to teach and encourage fellow believers, to test decisions and trials we confront, and to train our children in righteousness (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 22:6, Psalm 119:9). If we haven't read our Bible, how will we know what's in it? I've been a Christian for over twenty years and I'm still being surprised by things I read in my Bible! Even if you can't remember that verse you memorized several years ago word for word anymore, you still know it's there when you need it. is when having that searchable bible app or handy concordance can really be helpful! By memorizing Scripture, you know what your bible says and you have stored a memory of where to go for answers when you find yourself in a time of need. (This is also why memorizing references is important, but I'll get to that in a different post.)

Be like Nike, Just Do It!

Choosing not to meditate on and memorize scripture is throwing away the opportunity to arm yourself with such an invaluable gift. Such a decision is not only depriving you on the counts of defense and the ability to extend a positive influence on those around you; but it also deprives you of so much joy, wisdom, and understanding that it becomes even more abundantly clear that we shouldn't just want this kind of influence in our lives; we should need it.

I'm talking about a need for water after three days in the hot sun with not a drop to be found.

Like a need for healing warmth after hours of exposure to a mountain blizzard at a dizzying altitude.

Like a need for chocolate (or wine) and a massive hug after a day with two screaming toddlers in your house. (Yeah, maybe not the same league, but definitely more relatable!!!)

We NEED scripture in our heads and hearts as well as in our hands. Make not to miss next week for three key elements to effective memorization, practical ideas for each different learning style, and lots of fun, creative ways to apply them!

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