Last week I finished memorizing 1 Peter 1 with the
great ladies at Do Not Depart. Wanting to keep this this wonderful reminder of my heavenly inheritance fresh in my memory,
I have found doing four things helps to solidify my memory verses in my mind and heart, so I don’t easily forget them. Whether you have already memorized a passage, are memorizing a passage now, or are gearing up for your next memory project: here are four simple ways to make learning and recalling your verses even easier.
I have found doing four things helps to solidify my memory verses in my mind and heart, so I don’t easily forget them. Whether you have already memorized a passage, are memorizing a passage now, or are gearing up for your next memory project: here are four simple ways to make learning and recalling your verses even easier.
1.
Read it
I like to start my day just reading aloud my memory
passage. Why aloud? For me, when I simply read silently, it’s only a matter of
time before my mind begins to wander to other things. By reading the passage
aloud, I am forced to focus on the words before me and meditate on their
meaning. It also helps me recognize what
verses I am familiar with, which ones I know, and which ones I need to review
more. Considering I memorized 1 Peter 1 over a thirteen week period,
learning two verses a week, by reading through 1 Peter 1 each day that’s 91
times reading through 1 Peter.
Not
only does doing that help me solidify the verses I was currently memorizing,
but it was great to prep me for the verses to come.
By the time we got to the later verses, just by reading 1 Peter 1 once a day, I
already had some of the phrasing down from just this simple, daily discipline.
If you have just finished the 1 Peter 1 memory challenge, this is a great way
to review the chapter. If you’re gearing up for your next memory project, this
is a great way to get a strong start when you do begin memorizing.
2.
Write it
I recently learned about this idea of handwriting out my memory verses. Like reading aloud, handwriting my verse forces me to focus on the words and phrases,
but even more so because I am copying the passage word for word, and don’t want
to make a mistake. Like the reading aloud, this is a great way to learn
phrasing in the verses you have left to learn in a passage. Though I learned of
this great memory technique at the end of the 1 Peter 1 challenge, I am writing
out 1 Peter 1 now to solidify what I’ve already learned, but when the next Do
Not Depart Scripture Memory Challenge starts up again in January, I will definitely
write out the entire passage at the
start.
I’ve chosen to write my verses in a beautiful blank
journal that I can use for my memory verses now, and pass down to my little
girl later. Can you imagine how neat it would be to have complete passages or
books of the Bible written in your own parent’s hand? What a simple treasure we
can leave our children, that also helps us memorize our verses.
3.
Hear it
I love listening to a passage I’m memorizing from my favorite audio Bible.
Since I memorize from the New King James Version (NKJV) I love hearing the
passage come to life from the Word of Promise (NKJV) Dramatic Audio Bible. Listening to a passage I’m memorizing is
especially helpful if the passage contains unfamiliar names. For instance in 1
Peter 1 memorizing the names (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia) was much easier having heard them pronounced from my
audio Bible. I’ve noticed listening also
allows me to recognize the flow of a passage and even patterns within a passage
because I am listening to the entire passage, not just the two verses I’m
working to memorize that week.
Listening to a memory chapter is a great addition, or alternative, to reading the text aloud. (Tip #1) If you don’t have an audio Bible in the version you memorize from, it seems more and more Bible apps are giving the option to listen and read. I know Bible.Is does that. http://www.bible.is/resources If you memorize from the KJV or ESV check them out. If you check out the “FaithComes By Hearing” podcasts at iTunes, you could literally just download the chapter or chapters you’re memorizing (if memorizing a book of the Bible) and just listen to your memory chapter wherever you are. Nice! I love technology today!
4.
Recite it
I make it a point to
recite my memory passage once through each day. I continue to do this even
after I’ve completed a memory project, just to keep it fresh in my memory. But this is especially helpful when I am currently memorizing a passage for
recognizing which verses I’m familiar with, which verses I know, and which
verses I need to review more. Each time
I recite my verses, reciting the passage gets easier and easier. I’m still
reciting John 1:1-14 daily that I memorized back in April and May this year,
and let me tell you, it now flows out so easily. That encourages me since I
have yet to get to that point with 1 Peter 1. But there was a time that I was
clunky with 1 John, but day after day, week after week, month after month of reciting
1 John 1 once-a-day, I learned first-hand
the amazing fruit that comes from the simple act of daily reciting my memory
verses.
All four of these
strategies for hiding God’s Word in my heart have helped make learning and remembering
my verses even easier--and they only take a few minutes a day. Such a small
price to pay when I consider the fantastic fruit borne out of memorizing
Scripture. Chuck Swindoll describes this
fruit, “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more
rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other
single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be
strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your
attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and
observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be
solidified.”
I hope to see you at
the next Do Not Depart Hide His Word challenge in January!
Question
for you: What are you memorizing now or planning to memorize in the upcoming
weeks?
Here are the blogs I'm linked up with this week. Check 'em out!
Copyright © 2012 Brooke Espinoza.
Great tips for this lovely Spiritual Sunday. I encourage my grandkids to repeat their Bible memory verses at least three times each time we practice them. Have a blessed week.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kaye! What a wonderful encouragement you are to your grandkids and their spiritual development. God bless you lots
DeleteWe do more oral work than writing when studying memory work with our children. We mix it up a little having them say their verses with their tongues sticking out or standing on one foot. Sometimes they illustrate the meaning too.
ReplyDeleteA group of ladies that I am working with just finished Galatians 5:22-23.
Heather, I agree when helping your kids to memorize Scripture it should be fun. We should make memorizing Gods Word as enjoyable and special as possible. Congratulations on memorizing the fruit of the Spirit! That's fantastic! Keep up the great work! God bless you lots!
DeleteSo many great tips here, Brooke. Thanks for spelling it out so clearly. I know it will benefit many.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll follow your lead and start a new journal specifically for handwriting my verses. Love that idea.
Thanks, Lisa! I like the idea of a journal too, because all the passage I need to review are all in one place. God bless you richly!
DeleteThanks for the reminder. Review, review, review is my key. Last year I worked hard at about 40 verses over the course of the year, but even though I reviewed 7 verses a day they didn't stay at the tip of my tongue, but I'm sure the truths have stuck. This year I didn't do it. It's a goal for next year again. Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteVisiting through Inspire Me Monday.
Sharon, you're so right. Regular review is the key to successful Scripture memorization. Congratulations on memorizing 40 verses! That's awesome! I love your goal for next year. God bless you much!
DeleteStopping by from Playdates. What a wonderful post. This is really a great practice that we should all put to use in our lives. I really enjoyed reading this. Have a great day. Blessings from Croatian: A Little R & R: www.littlerandr.org
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rosilind! I'm glad this blessed you. God bless you lots!
DeleteI am stopping by from Darlene's place - I love your blog and this post. Great tips. I especially love to write out scripture and have used index cards and also enjoy writing them in my journal! Will look into the New Year challenge.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn! So glad you stopped by. I love writing out my memory verses, on index cards too. So handy for carrying my verse for the day wherever I may go. God bless you richly!
DeleteJust ran across your blog from Darlene's. Great advice! Keep on encouraging knowing the word.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephanie for your encouraging words! So glad you came by. God bless you lots!
DeleteThank you for the tips! I have a real hard time memorizing anything! I will try :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
So glad this blessed you, Christina! I had a hard time memorizing Bible verses too, until I learned a great method for doing so from Dr. Andrew Davis' booklet "An Approach to Extended Memorization." Here's the link to this fabulous free resource: http://fighterverses.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/extended-scripture-memory_andy-davis.pdf Here's my link of how I personally memorize based off of Dr. Andrew Davis' method. http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com/p/bible-memorization.html Hope these help! You can do it, Christina! (Phil. 4:13) God bless you richly!
DeleteSuch good advice, Brooke. I have been working on memorizing the book of James this year (almost there!) and as the passages get longer, I have found it helpful to make a mental "hook" to associate one verse with the next. It might be a simple alphabetical connection, or a more complicated association--just to remind me what comes next. Good thoughts here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura! Congratulations on memorizing the book of James! That is such a rich book! I have heard it referred to as "the proverbs of the New Testament" because it has so much practical wisdom for living godly lives. James is on my list of books to memorize. I know exactly what you mean about those mental hooks. They are so beneficial! I notice the longer I have meditated on a passage, the more those related words and phrases seem to pop out as I go through the passage out loud. God bless you lots!
DeleteGreat tip Brooke! I too have to read scripture out loud in order to get it down in my spirit. Dropping by from Into the Word Wednesday link up. Have a blessed day! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! So glad you stopped by! God bless you much!
DeleteI am so terrible at memorizing scripture, but I know that I need to do it. TODAY I was going to start memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 (I'm studying Becoming a Woman Who Loves by Cynthia Heald), so how blessed am I to have found this post! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I heard a sermon illustration one time of a man in a retirement home who had Alzheimer's. Rather than repeating segments of his life or profanities (which so many sadly do), he constantly spoke scripture he had memorized throughout his life. How wonderful would it be to one day only speak the words that the Holy Spirit has engraved in our hearts?
I struggled with memorizing Scripture too, until I learned of an effective way to do it from Dr. Andrew Davis' booklet "An Approach to Extended Memorization." Here's the link to this fabulous free resource: http://fighterverses.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/extended-scripture-memory_andy-davis.pdf Here's my link of how I personally memorize based off of Dr. Andrew Davis' method. http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com/p/bible-memorization.html Hope these help as you begin hiding 1 Corinthians 13 in your heart. You can do it! (Phil. 4:13) I loved your illustration. What a beautiful example of a man using his time and mind for God's Word. His Word never returns void, so imagine how the Lord used those verses to those within earshot of that godly man. Awesome! Janet Pope has memorized over 14 books of the Bible because Alzheimer's runs in her family and she wants as much of God's Word hidden in her heart now while she can just in case. God bless you richly!
DeleteLovely. Hearing it on CD works best for me, esp. on my walks.
ReplyDeleteAnita, I love using Scripture CD's too! Seeds Family Worship is my favorite. Third Day (another favorite!) also has Scripture CD's called "Glory Revealed" and "Glory Revealed 2". Learning your verses while you walk is a great way to redeem the time. God bless you lots!
DeleteI'm still working on the last few verses of 1 Peter 1! Hoping to finish it by Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Elizabeth! I'm familiar with the last few verses of 1 Peter but don't have them down like I do the rest of the passage, so I'm using the techniques in this blog post to get them down. Hope to see you at the next memory challenge in January! God bless you much!
DeleteI struggle with memory verse, and am grateful for any tips that might help commit the word to my heart and mind! Thanks you! (visiting via ITWW)
ReplyDeleteBeckey, I can relate. There was a time memorizing was a real challenge for me. But I learned a great way of memorizing Bible verses from Dr. Andrew Davis' booklet "An Approach to Extended Memorization." Here's the link to this fabulous free resource: http://fighterverses.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/extended-scripture-memory_andy-davis.pdf Here's my link of how I personally memorize based off of Dr. Andrew Davis' method. http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com/p/bible-memorization.html Hope these help, too! You can do it, Beckey! (Phil. 4:13)
ReplyDeleteGreat practical steps here, Brooke! I am finishing up Beth Moore's study on James and am amazed at how much more I've retained by writing the entire book out by hand. I will be writing all of my memory verse by hand from here on out. Glad I found you thru God-Bumps today!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alicia! Glad this blessed you. Congratulations on finishing the James study. That sounds like a great one. I agree, writing out verses is so effective in helping to recall it later. God bless you lots!
DeleteI'm glad your post was before mine at Intentional Me! I loved this post! Memorizing Scripture is so important, and I often speak on the importance of having your kids memorize it (and in the process you do too!). These are very practical helpful ideas. I would love it if you would post this in my Tuesday link up party for my readers.
ReplyDeleteThe link is: http://courtshipconnection.com/?p=2503
Kathie
Thank you, Kathie for your encouraging words and invitation to link up. I'm so glad this post blessed you. God bless you richly!
DeleteI usually have the best luck if I write stuff down...it's almost like I'm writing it on my brain! :)
ReplyDeleteLol! I like how you put that, Mindy! God bless you richly!
DeleteThese are such great suggestions!! I do most of these except the audio version which is GREAT!!!!!! I still struggle with memorization and this inspires me to work harder on it! THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteKelly, you bless me so much! So glad this blessed your heart. I struggled with memorizing Scripture, too, for the longest time until I learned of an effective way to do it from Dr. Andrew Davis' booklet "An Approach to Extended Memorization." Here's the link to this wonderful free resource: http://fighterverses.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/extended-scripture-memory_andy-davis.pdf In addition, here's my link of how I personally memorize Scripture based off of Dr. Andrew Davis' method. http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com/p/bible-memorization.html Hope these help as you seek to hide more of God's Word in your heart. You can do it, Kelly! (Phil. 4:13) God bless you lots!
DeleteThanks for these tips! My church always picks a 2-3 verse passage every 2 weeks as a verse to memorize, and I have such a hard time sometimes. I'm sure these will help!
ReplyDeleteNew follower from Weekend Blog Walk.
http://musingsofamommabear.blogspot.com/2012/11/shes-here.html
Glad these blessed you, Kim! That's really neat that your church memorizes Scripture together. A couple of resources that can help when you are struggling are:
Delete1. Dr. Andrew Davis' booklet "An Approach to Extended Memorization." Here's the link to this wonderful free resource: http://fighterverses.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/extended-scripture-memory_andy-davis.pdf
2. How I personally memorize Scripture based off of Dr. Andrew Davis' method. http://brookeespinoza.blogspot.com/p/bible-memorization.html
Hope these help! You can do it, Kim! (Phil. 4:13) God bless you richly!
Wonderful Bible Study!!
ReplyDeleteHi there, found you through a blog hop, glad I did! I look forward to reading your posts and am now following you! Come on by the Aloha Friday Blog hop and link up with us too!! It's easy and you could end up being next week's featured blogger!!
http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/2012/11/aloha-friday-blog-hop-32-december-is-in.html
Thanks, Jean for your kind words and invitation to your blog hop! I will be by for sure! God bless you much!
DeleteThank you for your helpful insight on memorizing God's Word!! I'm your newest follower from the weekend blog walk - this is my blog if you wanted to follow back: godsgrowinggarden.com
ReplyDeleteAngie
So glad this blessed you, Angie! Thank you for your encouraging words and the info on your blog. I look forward to visiting. God bless you richly!
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteNew follower from the blog hop please come follow me back :)
http://lifewithtwinsandadramaqueen.com/
Glad to have you here! God bless you lots!
DeleteThank you for joining the Weekend Blog Hop this week!
ReplyDeleteHolly
http://notdonegrowing.blogspot.com/
You're welcome! It's my pleasure. God bless you much!
Delete