Busy, Forgetful Girl: You Can Memorize Large Portions of Scripture

Dear 25 year old self,

Today is your 20th Birthday. I don’t know if you will still be on earth for your 25th birthday.

But assuming you are still in the trenches, here are some hopes, dreams and prayers from your 20 year old self. 

It’s become a tradition of mine to take time to remember the goodness of God and plan for the future every New Year’s and every birthday. Last summer on my 20th I did this in the form of a letter to my future-self.

One particular set of hopeful words buried in that letter have provided more motivation than I could have ever imagined when they dripped from my pen.

I hope you are continuing to memorize large portions of scripture. Please don’t grow weary of memorizing. Remember how important this was to you at 19 and 20. It gave you victory over temptation, joy in Christ, strength in weakness. It was exiting to study the scripture as you fell asleep with the lights out; when you couldn’t see your paper Bible. You got such joy finding similarities between Paul’s letters as you memorized. Don’t let the business of life steal this joy and strength from you!

Hiding God’s word in my heart has become a sweet joy over the last couple of years. I’m especially passionate about memorizing large chunks of the Bible and wish I started doing this when I was younger.

But when I was younger I thought memorizing entire books of the Bible was impossible; at least for me. I struggled with motivation, consistency, remembering references, and review.

So what dispelled my inhibitions and made me crazy enough to call memorizing scripture a joy and strength?

All it took was a little dash of inspiration. Men and Women who promised they were’t brainiacs, yet were memorizing entire books of the Bible and told me that I could too.

The first time I heard someone quote a extended passage of scripture was via youtube. I watched in amazement as Nancy Demoss Wolgumuth spent over 30 minutes simply speaking the word of God from memory.

In the months that followed, my earbuds became acquainted with Nancy’s podcast in which she interviewed other women who were also memorizing entire books of the Bible. They all said the same thing.

“I’m busy.”

“I don’t have an incredible memory.”

but …

“I started and now I can’t stop.”

“I love memorizing.”

“Memorizing scripture has changed my life.”

I was inspired. I needed to get in on this memorizing books of the Bible thing!

So I pulled out my index cards and wrote down Philippians chapter one. Eight months later, with the entire book of Philippians hidden in my heart and Ephesians well underway, I wrote that birthday letter to twenty-five year old Katie.

Whatever your experience with memorizing scripture has been up to this point, I’m hoping my testimony will be your inspiration. Because I truly do love the Word of God and I passionately believe that hiding it in your heart would change your life.

First I’ll share a couple reasons I love memorizing entire chapters and books of the Bible. And then I’ll explain exactly how I go about memorizing an entire book.

It Gives Victory Over Temptation

David said “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11) Even Jesus quoted scripture when He was tempted in the wilderness. (see Matthew chapter 4)

Quoting memorized passages of scripture has dragged me through temptation victoriously time and time again. But sometimes I need more than one or two verses. Sometimes it takes an entire chapter, or two before I begin to feel victory.

Even if the passage doesn’t directly relate to the temptation I’m facing, meditating on scripture takes my focus off of the situation and my own desires and puts it on Christ.

You Can Study Without Your Bible

When you repeat the same words over and over, day after day, you can’t help but analyze them; piecing together meaning, following thought processes, and chewing on concepts.

Basically, you end up unintentionally studying the passage you memorize. The incredible thing about this is you can do it without your paper (or electronic) Bible!

I’ve studied while working on mindless projects, running, or even while falling asleep at night.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night with the revelation that the verse you memorized before bed connects to a concept introduced three chapters earlier in the book. And you don’t have to turn on a light, or unlock your phone to find the exact verse you’re reminded of. You just flip a few phantom pages in your brain and gaze upon the passage!

Now that you know why I called memorization my joy and strength let’s look at how to practically do this.

Memorize One Verse a Day

The biggest key to memorization is consistency. And the key to consistency is to schedule it into your day. Try memorizing while working on other mindless activities. For example, I memorize while doing my hair and makeup in the morning.

I write each chapter on index cards and keep those in my bathroom. I’ve also tried printing out the chapter and taping it to my mirror. Other people take pictures of the verses on their phone.

I aim to memorize one verse a day. Since most chapters average 26 verses, that works out to about 1 chapter a month. Keeping in mind that many books in the Bible are under 12 chapters long, it’s very realistic to memorize one book each year.

Do whatever works for you; but whatever you do, be consistent. Schedule it into your daily routine.

Review the Chapter Each Day

If you are learning a new verse every day, it’s important to review the verses you’ve already learned. There’s no point memorizing a whole book if you can’t remember the beginning when you finish.

I do this by reviewing all the verses in the chapter I’m currently working on. For example, if I’m learning Acts 3:12 today, I will review Acts 3:1-11 before learning verse 12.

Let it Simmer Before Moving on

Once I’ve completed a chapter I celebrate like crazy! And then I take a one week break from learning new verses and instead review the chapter I’ve just completed. I want it to simmer in my mind and give my brain a rest before mixing in another chapter.

Review the Book Each Week

After I’ve spent a week simply reviewing, I put that chapter on a shelf and stop reviewing it every day. Instead I turn my attention to memorizing chapter 2. One new verse a day, reviewing my entire progress on chapter 2 every day.

Additionally, once a week I review my entire progress on the book. For example, if I’m memorizing Acts 3:12 today, I also review Act 3:1-11 today and once this week I’ll review Acts chapters 1-3:12.

Memorizing large portions of scripture is not beyond your mental ability. In fact, I believe everyone can do it with consistency and a bit of hard work. The fruit of your investment will be joy and strength. And I guarantee you will love God’s Word and His Person more because of it.

How About You?

• Do you memorize scripture?
• What are the biggest benefits in your opinion of hiding God’s Word in Your Heart?