Hiding God’s Word in Our Hearts: The Ins and Outs of Scripture Memory

Over the last six months, I’ve been working to understand the connection between walking in the Spirit so as not to gratify the desires of the flesh. My pastors preached through Galatians this fall, and the Scriptures seemed to shine a giant spotlight on my inability to find victory over sin. As I’ve felt the weakness of my flesh, I’ve wondered:  How do I kill my sin more effectively? What does it look like to walk in the Spirit? Why can’t I seem to stop the train of thoughts that give birth to sin? I want to walk in the Spirit as Paul encourages in Galatians, but I just don’t know how to do it. 

As I’ve wrestled with Scripture and my futile battle to exchange sins of the flesh for fruit of the Spirit, the Lord brought the discipline of Scripture memory to mind many times. I dabbled in it a bit, got distracted, and eventually forgot about it. But the Lord is faithful and the Spirit is persistent, so the subject of memorization came up everywhere I looked: in books, in conversations with other believers, in my personal time of prayer and study, even in social media. It became apparent that scripture memory was a discipline I’d severely neglected. 

SCRIPTURE MEMORY SO YOU WON’T SIN?
The answer to my question about killing sin more effectively was found in a verse I memorized as a child: “I will hide Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). Memorizing Scripture so we do not sin—can it really be that simple? (Notice I said simple, not easy.) You know what? Fighting sin on sheer willpower wasn’t working. I need the strong Word of the Lord to help me. I’m like a foolish Galatian trying to finish in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit! (See Gal. 3:2-3) He has supplied what we need to have victory over sin: the Word and His Spirit. We won’t be perfectly sinless until we see Him face-to-face, but we can seek to obey Him and love Him more than our sin while we wait for that day. The eventual victory is sure, and that should encourage us to fight the daily battle against sin.

I now believe that one of the keys to walking in the Spirit and killing sin is hiding the words of the Lord in my heart—storing them up so that they are ready every moment of mental white space when temptation crowds in. The Spirit can do a lot with Scripture that is imprinted on the mind and heart. He can bring to mind what I need in the moment I need it, and I think He is more likely to do so when when it is readily at hand. 

SEEKING HELP AND MAKING GOALS
I decided to make some goals and incorporate regular Scripture memory into my life but wasn’t sure where to start. So, I put out some questions to my friends on social media: 

• How do you “do” Scripture memory? 
• What aids or resources do you use to help you memorize? 
• Do you do verses here and there or long chunks or whole books? 

First off, the sheer number of responses I received encouraged me that there are more believers memorizing Scripture than I thought! I loved hearing from so many young women who are not only committed to memorization but who are also teaching their children to memorize right along with them. Second, I gathered so many resources from them that I decided to put them together in one place for anyone who is seeking a method and motivation to memorize Scripture. 

The consensus is that memorization should be a daily practice for retention’s sake, and that long chunks are better for context’s sake. The bottom line is this: in John 15, Jesus told us to abide in Him and that if we are abiding in Him, then His words are abiding in us. There is a very real connection between remaining faithful to Him and having His words stored up in us. And in that abiding, there is so much joy. Full joy, to use Jesus’ words (John 15:11). What more encouragement do we need?

RESOURCES
Below are the resources I gathered from all the wonderful suggestions I’ve been given. I hope that you’ll find a method that works for you and that you’ll join me in hiding the strong, powerful, eternal, life-giving, sin-killing Word of God in our hearts. 

PODCAST EPISODES/ARTICLES ON SCRIPTURE MEMORY METHODS & MOTIVATION

• Risen Motherhood has a podcast episode that will help you make time for memorization: “Wisdom for the Everyday: Scripture Memory and Motherhood” (iTunes and Spotify).
• Make sure to listen to Susan Heck on her Scripture Memory method on the Women’s Hope Project podcast (iTunes and Spotify). If you’re an audio learner, this will be very beneficial for you. 
• Pastor Andy Davis has some truly helpful (and convicting) information on memorizing books of the Bible. Yes, whole books! Listen to him talk with Nancy Guthrie on this podcast (iTunes and Spotify) and read his short e-book on his method (it’s only $0.99!). His experience and wisdom has convinced me that I can actually memorize long texts—even books!—of the Bible.
• Jon Bloom’s article, “Scripture Memory Wasn’t for Me” is one of the best encouragements I’ve read on this subject.
• Be sure to read “Where to Start!? Guide to Memorizing Scripture” by Pastor Mark Young of Switftcreek Baptist Church. 
• “It’s a just a perseverance thing, actually.” Read or listen to this conversation between Nancy Wolgemuth and Janet Pope at Revive Our Hearts. Janet also has a book on the impact of memorizing Scripture.
• Find some motivation when you read “You can Memorize Scripture This Year” by Andy Naselli at Desiring God.

MEMORY VERSE PACKS AND METHODS
If you desire to memorize individual verses (perhaps based on theme or topics), the resources below should be helpful for organization and practice.

• Dear Mushka is primarily a jewelry business, but the owner also advocates for Scripture memory. Her methods and products were recommended to me several times.
  • Here is her method to memorize verses in just 5 minutes a day.
  • Here are her verse cards packs:
    •  Fighter Pack
    •  Child Pack
    •  Verse Memorization Tabs
    • She recommends buying a recipe box for storage!
• Another company that has verse card resources for purchase is The Daily Grace Co. Here are their memory packs for purchase. 
• Hunter Beless of the Journeywomen Podcast has a helpful Instagram stories highlight on memorization with notecards. Check them out here and scroll down until you see the “highlights” section. The one you’re looking for is titled “Resources.” Be prepared to take some screen shots. Her “tallies method” should be helpful for retention! 
• Fighter Verses provides both a memory verse pack you can order for $13.00 and an app for your phone for $3.

FIRST LETTER METHOD
I’ve found that the first letter method is most effective for my brain. After reading through the verse several times, you write the first letter of each word while your recite it to yourself. I do this over and over until I get it right. Then the next day I add another verse. I use the printouts of the entire text around my house for repetitive reading and reciting after I’ve done the first letter method a few times. 

• Though I am trying to use as many analog resources as possible (because our phones are too much with us) the Bible Memory App has an option for memorizing verses with the first letter method. It’s good for waiting rooms, car pick-up lines, or anytime you have a few minutes and are away from your Bible or printed texts. The app will also remind you when it’s time to review. 
• Dwell Differently will send you Scripture tattoos or key fobs that use the first letter method for memorization. You can subscribe in 3, 6, or 12 month chunks and have first letter tattoos sent to your house. I’m seriously considering trying this with my family!

AUDIO AND REPETITION
There’s no good substitute for repetition. That’s the only way you’re really going to memorize anything. As Susan Heck recommended in the above mentioned podcast, listening to verses over and over will help cement it in your brain. She recommends a voice recorder app that allows you to playback at a faster speed because your brain will grab more at a faster pace. Here are some ways to do this:

• My iOs voice recorder app doesn’t allow a change in speeds, but Voxer does. So I’ve recorded James 1 as fast as I can and then listen to it on double time several times in one setting (while getting ready in the morning or while driving).
• Additionally, you can purchase a subscription to the Dwell Bible app and set verses or chapters to repeat. (iOs and Android). 

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I’m certain there are hundreds of resources out there I’m missing, but even if you only access the links on this post, you have everything you need. What we need next is obedience and steadfastness. In fighting sin, in loving Jesus more, in remembering His good words to us better, we need to be planted like a tree next to a stream of water. We need to meditate on the Word day and night (see Psalm 1). For the sake of perseverance, Scripture memory is necessary. Here’s a little excerpt from my upcoming book, Everyday Faithfulness, where I recommend Scripture memory about a dozen times (not even knowing at the time of writing it how much I would need the encouragement today!). In my chapter on faithfulness during spiritual dry spells, I wrote this:

“Scripture memorization is a key tool for breaking through the tough exterior of a dry heart. Learning the words of the Lord encourages praise (Ps. 119:7). If reading the Bible is like irrigating a field, then memorization is like flooding the field with water to submerge it. Pastor Jon Bloom calls memorization “swimming” in the text rather than just skimming the surface. Through repetition and recitation, the words of the Lord are hidden in our hearts and come to mind throughout the day. When you commit portions of Scripture to memory, you’ll find that those passages begin to change the way you think and feel. This is how you flood the fields, my friend.”

I want my mind to be saturated—flooded— with the Bible. I know it will not magically happen, so I made a personal goal to memorize the book of James over the next six months in preparation for the TGCW conference next June. I’ll be leading a breakout session where I’m teaching from James 5, and how helpful would it be for me to have the whole book stored in my heart? I only share this so you know that as I’m encouraging you to begin memorizing Scripture, I am doing it too! I’ve made a plan and working slowly through it. 

As of the publication date of this post, I’ve memorized half of the first chapter by simple recitation using the first letter method several times a day. I typed up the text and printed it on a regular 8.5×11 piece of paper and stashed it in various places around my house: in an upside down ziplock bag that’s taped to the wall of my shower, in a frame propped up on the window sill over my kitchen sink, on little cards on the coffee table, and of course in its original form in my Bible where I read it each morning after my regular Bible study time. Instead of giving every spare moment of white mental space to podcasts, music, or mindless entertainment, I’m working toward memorization. It isn’t easy and I have a long way to go, but it’s already been incredibly rewarding. 

If our goal is to meditate on the Word day and night in order to love the Lord better and to hate our sin more, I don’t think Scripture memory will ever be a waste of time. May the Lord do great things without our obedience to hide His word in our heart. 

If you need motivation or resources for hiding God's Word in your heart, this post has a long list of tools for you! Share on X

 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash