Scripture calls us to hide its words in our hearts, a practice that we have often left only to children. Hostages often recount that it is scripture that they had deep within the recesses of their soul that sustained them during their dark days.
Memorizing scripture is a way of retraining old mental habits so that we can be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.
Memorizing individual verses such as John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11 or Proverbs 3:5 allows the words of Scripture to sink deeply in our hearts or on our lips at a moment’s notice.
Gain biblical wisdom
Memorizing longer passages such as Psalm 23 or John 1 gives us an even richer source of biblical wisdom deep in our souls, one that can sustain us in times of struggle.
Reflect on the lectionary
You may also want to choose a passage to remember from each day’s lectionary readings. Memorizing something that the Lord spoke to you through the text enables you to reflect upon it all day and gives you power throughout the day.
Hold a contest
Host a Bible memorization contest based on the Top 100 Memory Verses, weighting the memorization of certain scriptures for difficulty and age.
Learn through song
Learning Scripture through song is one of the best ways to memorize scripture. Michael Morgan’s Psalter for Christian Worship provides contemporary, paraphrase settings of the psalms to familiar hymn tunes. Some of the great hymns of the church (e.g., “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night” — a paraphrase of Luke 2) can also help us to hold Scripture in our hearts.