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What would you do if you didn't have access to your Bible anymore?
No, really! Think about what you would do: how would you learn more about Jesus, how would He be able to teach you through His Word? How would you be spiritually fed?
The first time this question struck my mind, it really got me thinking, and it made me realize how truly important hiding God's Word in our hearts is, not only for if we don't have our Bible with us, but for many more reasons as well.
Whenever I ask someone if they would be interested in joining Bible Quizzing (a sport which involves a good bit of memory work) I can usually expect the same answer, "No, I couldn't, I'm really bad at memorizing!"
Seriously, you'd be surprised at how many people give me this response.
But I'm here to tell you that, actually, you're not bad at memorizing.
God has given each of us the gift of minds that have memory and are able to retain information, not only because it is important and necessary to be able to remember certain things, but as well to memorize His Word.
Our minds are quite literally wired to be able to remember information, so there's no way that we are completely unable to use our minds in this way, unless there is a physical reason why our brains can't retain information.
I don't believe that anyone absolutely can't memorize or is really bad at it, in fact, I think that a lot of people probably assume they're bad at memorizing because they keep telling themselves that.
Sure, you might look at somebody and be blown away by their memorizing skills, and yes, they do have amazing memorizing skills! But honestly, that's probably just because they do it more. Anybody can get good, in fact very good, at memorizing; you just have to actually do it.
And telling yourself that you could never be as good at memorizing as "so-and-so" is absolutely, completely and totally not true.
I can bet you've most likely heard the phrase "mind over matter" before. Yes, yes, it actually is true! If you keep telling yourself that you're bad at memorizing, then, naturally, you're going to completely and totally believe that you suck at memorizing... because you keep telling yourself that!
BUT, if you tell yourself that you can memorize and, in fact, you are really good at memorizing, (yes, even if you take 30 minutes to memorize a verse), then you will believe it and be compelled to use those amazing memorizing skills!
You just have to put your mind over the matter.
Our minds are capable of remembering information, but if we aren't using this natural memorizing skill too often, we might feel like our brains are picking up information slowly, which might be why you think you're bad at memorizing... but only at first!
In fact, did you know that when we are developing a new habit, our brains are making new paths? Just like learning anything new or starting a new habit, it takes time to get good at memorizing. Well, no wonder, because our brains are working on making a new pathway! But the more we do this, the stronger the pathways, the better our brains will be at memorizing! Just like never practicing piano will not make you a better pianist, but consistently playing will result in you being a better pianist after time!
So, yes, in fact, you might be very slow at memorizing when you begin, but that certainly does not mean that you suck, or that you won't get better over time (remember, it takes time to get better, so don't be discouraged when you first start out!).
I'll have you know, when I first began Bible Quizzing, I wasn't super great at memorizing either! I could memorize, but not as well as I can now. In fact, when I first started out doing Bible Quizzing and memorizing scripture, I thought I was bad at it too. But with practice, I am now able to memorize verses much faster than before, as well, I can memorize in much greater quantities now!
I don't say this to make you feel bad about your memorizing skills, but instead to encourage and reassure you that, actually, you absolutely can memorize, and that you won't start out being able to memorize entire chapters in 20 minutes (which I can't even do either depending on the amount of verses!). Instead, I say this to let you know that though you might start out slowly and feel discouraged if a verse takes you 30 minutes to memorize, you will improve, and it will be so so incredibly worth it when you have that verse or verses in your mind and can quote it. Truly! It really is amazing and so rewarding.
Another sort of amusing response that people have given me when asked if they would be interested in memorizing or Bible Quizzing is, "I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast so how could I remember verses?"
Well, I actually can't even remember what I ate for breakfast either, but I can still remember all the verses I memorized... so you can too!
And this actually has to do with long term and short term memory! Your short term memory, or your working memory, can only hold a certain amount of information at a time; you have to work (a.k.a use repetition) to be able to move that information from your short term to your long term memory. Therefore, not exactly important information, like what you ate for breakfast, won't stick unless you intentionally try to remember and repeat to yourself all day what you had. This isn't to say that you won't remember what you had for breakfast, you will just probably forget if you don't try to remember it. But on the other hand, when you memorize verses, you intentionally try to remember them and make them stick for a long time... unlike your breakfast.
Your mind is designed to be able to retain information. You can store God's Word up in your mind!! But more importantly, you can store God's Word up in your heart- which is our goal. What an absolutely amazing tool!
Maybe just the mere fact that you are able to memorize isn't an entirely good reason for why we should memorize scripture though, in fact, there are so so many wonderful reasons to memorize God's Word...
SO WHY SHOULD WE MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE?
1 It Allows for Further Meditation & Study
I can't even tell you how many times I've memorized a verse at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year, I'm still learning stuff from it. You'd be surprised by how much God can teach you from merely one verse!
Often, people think that if they have already read through and studied a passage, it won't be worth it to go through it again. Oh, but I can't tell you how incredibly wrong that is!
For the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart - Hebrews 4:12
Because God's Word is alive and active. This means that he can constantly teach us and have us glean new things from His Word, because it's alive! It means that His word can actively change our lives. It means that God can bring about new understanding of a passage or verse, even if that new understanding comes after you've studied or gone over the same verse 50 times.
And this is such truth for memorizing scripture!
You see, when you memorize a verse, you say it over and over and over so that you'll be able to remember it (repetition= key to memory work!). Going over and over that verse to remember it allows for a deeper studying and meditation of it rather than if you had just read it over once. This is because you are thinking and pondering over the words more in order to allow your brain to remember it.
And why is this important? Well, just read the verse above again! We can keep learning new things and gaining new understanding from God's Word; he can continuously teach us! God's Word is studied in such a profound way when we memorize it, and this can bring about such a wonderful change in the way we live and the person we are. That's important.
But wait! It doesn't stop there. Memorizing doesn't only provide learning and understanding while you are memorizing. You know why? The great thing about memorizing verses is that once it's memorized, it's in your head! (who would have thought??) Because that passage or verse is now in your head, you'll find those words echoing through your mind sometimes because you've thought about those verses a lot to be able to memorize it, but also because God brings His Word back to your mind! This means that he can continuously use His Word to teach you because now His Word is in your head!
And not even just that!...
2 It Helps us Understand God's Word Better
Now, this isn't likewise for all people, but honestly, sometimes, I don't even understand a verse until I memorize it.
Like I talked about in the previous section, memorizing scripture allows for deeper meditation and study of God's Word, which can often lead to you finally understanding a verse only once you've memorized it! (Kind of funny, huh?) This is because memorizing scripture helps engage our minds in the verse. It makes our minds understand because, well, we have to have some sort of understanding of the verse to be able to actually keep it in our heads! And usually for me, if I didn't understand the verse before, it was because I didn't think about it enough or I just wasn't paying attention!
That's why studying God's Word is so important...
God's Word isn't meant to be read or skimmed over quickly... because we won't remember it that much and it won't have that much of an impact on us if we do. When we just skim or read over, we're not going to get much out of it, because we're not letting ourselves really soak it in. We're not allowing ourselves to have understanding of the verse, which comes from pondering and meditating over it.
God's Word is meant to be studied instead of just read because that's when it becomes so much more profound and life-changing.
And memorizing does just exactly that, in fact, you'll discover it might even do a better job than just studying it as you read more...
3 It Equips us with God's Word & Truth
Imagine this: You're having a conversation with a friend or acquaintance, and they ask you how God's Word is still applicable and why we should listen to it, but you can't think of anything to say to explain. You know that God's Word is always applicable and filled with life, but you just can't think of an answer...
(for your reference, Hebrews 4:12 or 2 Timothy 3:16 are both good answers for this question!)
Okay, maybe you would have had an answer, or maybe you would have had an idea of where good verses to look at are, but do you get my point?
In 1 Peter we are told...
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect - 1 Peter 3:15
And having God's Word memorized, yes, even just parts of it, provides us with answers to a lot of the questions people may ask us about our faith!
There have been so many times when I've thought back to conversations with people about my faith and then thought of the perfect verse I could have said that I now have memorized. It would have provided such clarity and good explanation!
And maybe you won't always have the perfect verse or reply... after all, who ever does? But bear with me...Memorizing scripture quite literally equips us with God's truth!
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. -Ephesians 6:14-17
Notice how often Paul references the different pieces of the armor of God coming from God's Word: the belt of truth, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We are told to always be prepared to give an answer, and how are we to be prepared to give an answer? By being in God's Word! And what better way to prepare ourselves in God's Word than by memorizing it? What better way to equip ourselves with the armor of God, to ready ourselves with God's truth, then by storing God's Word up in our minds?
Because God's Word is living and active (as mentioned before)... that means it has a lot of power. That means that God can work and speak to us pretty profoundly through it.
And when we store it up in our minds, think about how much power and truth and life that we have equipped ourselves with right there in our memory!?
Here's what happens when we equip ourselves with scripture (particularly via memorizing):
It can actively combat the enemy's lies or schemes with direct truth from God's Word. Sometimes we can begin to listen to or really believe those lies, but guess what? God's word refutes every single one of those lies. Just like the passage above was saying, we must stand firm against the attacks of the enemy... and how do we stand firm? By putting on the armor of God, much of which is equipping ourselves with God's Word. God's Word is our armor and our weapon against the enemy.
It provides us not only with answers but also, truth, encouragement, inspiration, comfort, conviction, confirmation, or explanation, for others. Just like the scenario I had you think about at the beginning of this section, you have God's Word in your mind! So you can now not only use those verses as answers to back up or explain your faith, but you can use those verses to give all the things I listed above (truth, encouragement, inspiration...) to others! How amazing?!
But not only that, those verses provide everything I listed above and more to you. God can actually bring those verses back to your mind and impact you with them in a very powerful way...
4 God Brings Those Verses back to our Minds
One of the most amazing aspects of memorizing scripture is the fact that God can bring those verses back to our minds.
This means that he can echo those verses through your mind to comfort you and remind you of His presence and love in times of hurting, trouble or pain.
This means that he can use those words to advise and teach you in times of confusion, searching or seeking, and he can use his wisdom to convict you or lead you exactly when you need it.
This means that in times of fear, anxiety or stress, he can bring you peace and remind you he is there and you do not need to fear.
He can remind you of his grace, his presence, his power, his love, his mercy, his sovereignty and control, his joy, his goodness, his faithfulness, or his steadfastness just when you need it.
That's pretty amazing, right?!
I can remember multiple times when God has brought a verse to my mind just when I needed it. One of those particular times was when I was feeling anxious and fearful, and God brought John 1:5 to my mind (this was the year we were memorizing John for Bible Quizzing so I had fairly recently memorized it) "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." I remember that verse echoing through my mind. I had been pacing back and forth in the bathroom, and all of a sudden I just stopped and stood there. He is in control. No darkness can ever overcome his light. I do not need to fear or worry. My fear dissipated and was replaced and flooded over with reassurance and peace in Jesus. It was an amazing moment of God's power!
God speaks to us through his Word! And when we have his word memorized, he can speak to us through his word at any time, just when we need it.
Once again, God's word is living and active! He speaks in such profound, powerful ways through it. And he uses it in equally profound and powerful ways when we've memorized His Word. That's a pretty good reason to memorize.
5 It Influences the Way We Live, Think & Speak
God's Word is so powerful... but when it's in our minds, it now has the capacity to become a pattern for thinking.
What we love, think about a lot, or are around a lot, has great influence on us. And when we memorize scripture, we think about it a lot because, well, we have to in order to be able to memorize it. Those verses will influence us, and they have the ability to influence us even more greatly now that they're in our heads.
That means that they will influence the way we think! God's Word in our minds can direct our thoughts and focus them on Jesus because our minds are pondering over those words so often.
But not only that, memorizing God's Word has the capacity to not only influence our thoughts or even our words, since our words come from our thoughts, but it has the capacity to influence the way we live.
You see, it's one thing to memorize God's Word and have it in our heads, which is great! But just as our goal is at quizzing, our aim is for transformation, not information.
And when we memorize God's Word, we now have the choice to have it be as just information in our heads, or to allow it to truly, profoundly impact us.
So how does this true, profound impact come about?
Well, just as we talked about before, having God's Word memorized allows for it to become a pattern for thinking. But we want his Word to not only to be in our heads, but to sink down to our hearts.
But how does God's Word sink down to our hearts? Well, this means intentionally thinking over those verses and paying attention to them, allowing them to shape how you live and love others, allowing them to direct your actions. But most importantly, allowing God's Word to sink into our hearts means having an open mind and heart to allow God to teach us and work in us through his words.
So that means praying for this to happen, but it also means surrendering your memory work to him and trusting that he will and can work in you. After all, we can't change ourselves with God's Word, because we just can't, but also because we want Jesus to humble and change us. When we completely surrender this to Jesus, having our minds and hearts open to him, he works through his living and active word to change and transform and mold us.
And as you memorize and pour over scripture, that's when you begin to love God's Word even more. That's when you begin to find yourself falling more and more in love with God's word, more and more in love with him, more and more in love with following after him, ... and I have to say, it's the coolest and most amazing thing ever.
Memorizing God's Word is such a profound and beautiful way to study the Bible, and when we do memorize scripture, he can do some amazing things through that.
God works in pretty special and cool ways when we memorize his word because his Word has the capacity to transform us!
Memorizing scripture was never something I thought I would get into; it was never something I thought I would do a lot, but I can't tell you how very glad I am that I did. I can't tell you enough in what amazing ways God has worked in me as I've memorized his word!
And he can work in equally amazing ways for you.
So what are you waiting for?? Let's go memorize God's Word!!!
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