Tips For Bible Memorization

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."  -Joshua 1:8


 It's the new year, and many Christians have already started reading their Bibles cover to cover, going soul-winning, and being in Church. Many have made good resolutions that hopefully they will fulfill.
  Today, I want to talk about a specific resolution that I think that every saint should consider. That resolution is Bible memorization. This is something that is overlooked among spiritual resolutions. Not only does God stress reading, and studying his Word, but also memorizing and meditating upon it.
  I'm now going to give you some tips on how you can memorize large portions of the Bible effectively. I have been using this technique for quite some time now, and it has proved effective.


 1) Choose a Passage

 This is the obvious, but sadly no one ever makes it to this step. If you are new to memorizing large portions of scripture, try memorizing most of the Psalms. And not Psalms like chapter 117, but Psalms that contain at least 10-20 verses. The best part about this, is that you can try and put some of the Psalms to music to aid your memorization. Don't try to memorize huge passages right away. The bear minimum should be 3-5 verses per day. Don't try to memorize a full chapter in one day. You need to train your mind to memorize like that before you jump into memorizing 10 verses, fail, then get discouraged.

2) Use the Same Bible

 If you're like me, and have a good stash of Bibles to choose from, it might be a good idea to only use one Bible for your memorization. The reason why is because often times when I can't remember a certain verse, usually I just flip the page without looking and the verse immediately comes to my mind. I like to call this "Scripture-Placement Memory".
  We do this all the time when we try to find certain scriptures without the references. Our minds may not remember the chapters and verses, but our minds do remember the sections we read. This is a great technique that aids in Bible memory.

3) Quote the Verses in the Morning and Evening

 After we wake up, our minds are fresh and ready for the day. This is the perfect advantage for Bible memory. Things stick well in the morning than in the evening. Quote in the evening to refresh your mind of the passage you are memorizing before you go to bed. And when I say quote, I mean recite the verse 10-15 times each. Look at the verse as you quote for 3-5 quotations, then work it into your memory. Do this every day until you have reached the last few verses.

4)Quote Memorized Passage Every Day for 1 Week

  Now, we are getting into the fundamentals of memorization. You must work the passage into your long-term memory. And when I say once a day, I mean ONCE A DAY. If you are quoting the passage five times a day, that isn't going to help you. Doing that will only keep the passage in your short-term memory. What you want, is to gradually work the passage into your long-term memory. Each day for a week, each week for a month, each month for a year, each year for a decade, each decade forever.

5) Move On

 Don't go telling your friends you memorized 1 chapter and you're done. Move on to harder chapters, and try to memorize more verses every day. Write down your verse on note cards, pull them out, and recite them when you can. When you're waiting in line, making dinner, or waiting in traffic, just pull them out and recite.  As you memorize, mediate on what the verse is saying to you. Apply it. You will be more filled with the Spirit if you speak the spirit.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  -Colossians 3:16

" It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."    -John 6:63