The Blessing of Memorizing Scripture

I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:15-16)

I surprised myself this summer. To make the most of my three-month summer vacation, I set myself a challenge: to memorize the book of Philippians. Gulp! I can’t memorize a short grocery list. I write down the items I need, forget the list at home, and then aimlessly wander the store trying to remember (unsuccessfully) what I need.

Attempting to commit to memory 104 verses was a high goal, but by memorizing one verse per day for six days each week, and adding a 10% leeway of grace, I projected that I would have the book stored up in my heart by late September. I’ll be honest. Forgetting the grace of God, I doubted my mind had that kind of capacity.

By June 25, I had Phil. 1:1-26 memorized. I was amazed that the Lord would enable me to do this. But then, I halted my plan to complete the whole book. Why? As I worked through Phil. Ch.1, each day I added a new verse (reciting it 20 times) and then recited the full verses already committed to memory. The time required to do this gradually increased day by day and after a month I found it challenging to have time for the rest of my morning devotion—Bible study and prayer. Instead, I decided to focus on memorizing smaller sections of Scripture.

I began this new strategy with Phil. 3:7-11 because it is such a valuable gospel truth and reminder to lift my eyes upward.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

As I write this post, I am memorizing sections of Psalm 31 because as I read it one morning, the words blessed and challenged me so much that I decided I ought to keep them near to my heart. These verses have become a prayer when fear threatens to overtake me, a prayer of surrender and reminder to trust in the Lord.

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. Psalm 31:1-5

During this summer of memorizing Scripture, I’ve learned (and continue to learn) a few unexpected lessons on the value of this spiritual discipline.

Something unexplainable happens inside us as the Word of God dwells richly there. The Holy Spirit, using the Word of God, is at work within us illuminating our mind, transforming our thoughts, and conforming our will. I often recognize phrases or a theme from verses that I’m memorizing as I read in other sections of the Bible. My understanding of the Word and the God of the Word is strengthened each time.

An example of this happened just this week. Paul, a prisoner for the gospel, wrote in Phil. 1:20 that “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed…”. As I chewed on this verse earlier in the summer, I admired Paul’s faith, but wondered, How can he be so sure? This week, while meditating on Psalm 31, I found my answer. Repeated in two separate verses in the Psalm were these words: “Let me never be put to shame” (31:1, 17). Why were David, the persecuted writer of Psalm 31, and imprisoned Paul so sure they would not be put to shame? Because they sought the LORD by prayer and had taken refuge in Him.

“In You, O LORD, do I take refuge, let me never be put to shame.” Ps. 31:1

“O LORD, do not let me be put to shame, for I call upon you.” Ps. 31:17

My fearful feet of unbelief stand upon the Rock a little firmer this week.

Something else that occurs unnoticed when the word of God is swirling around in our mind and getting deeper into our heart. The verses which are now stored up in my memory bank have fueled the encouragement I’ve shared with friends. I know from experience how sweet a word in season is for my soul, how blessed it is to be ready to offer words of timely grace to others.

There’s meat in the context. In almost 20 years as a believer, I have only a handful of single, stand-alone verses committed to memory. I’ve noticed that as I memorize segments of Scripture I now have the context of the whole section in my mind and heart. Most Christians have Phil. 1:6 memorized: “For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” It’s a great verse to remind ourselves of our security in Christ. But cherry-picked and isolated, Phil. 1:6 can become a verse about me. As I worked through the verses before and after it, verse 6 became much more significant than me and my security.

Paired with the surrounding verses, by God’s grace, I understood Paul’s genuine affection for his beloved church in Philippi as he encouraged these disciples in difficult circumstances. This reminded me of Christ’s genuine and tender affection for his sheep, which lifted my heart to praise the Lord for his goodness toward me and his church.

I soon noticed my prayers were being shaped by these heartfelt words of Paul, penned so long ago. Somehow, this broadened and deepened my own prayers, giving them the fresh air of new life. Prayers for my brothers and sisters became filled with compassion, and I felt an urgency to intercede for the lost.

Memorizing more than just an occasional isolated verse has proven very fruitful for my soul.

GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. When I was in university oh so many years ago, I was required for my business degree to take a computer programming course. I hated it, and barely passed it. I spent hours upon treacherous hours in a basement computer lab diligently typing code into a black screen. I remember working well into the night on many projects. My weary hand would excitedly hit the Enter button as I was certain the assignment was finally completed. My hopeful heart anticipated the desired output—the rhythmic screech of the dot-matrix. The silence was deafening as my blurred eyes would find ‘Error‘ blinking on the screen. I’m sure the course was intended for more than just exasperating eager first-year students. But whatever its purpose, I did take away one life lesson which I learned in the first lecture: garbage in, garbage out. A computer will only output what you feed it. If you input error, error will be the result. If you input accurate and desirable code, you will get correct functioning output.

So it is with our minds. When we put the stuff of the world in our minds, the stuff of the world settles in the deep spaces of our thoughts, forming attitudes, words and actions that reflect this world. When we put the pure milk of the Word in our minds, and meditate upon it, we think upon things that are good, true, commendable, lovely, just, pure, excellent and worthy of praise. Our attitudes, words and actions follow suit.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Phil. 4:8

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Is your heart dull? Has your prayer life become a repetitive routine of rattling off survival-mode requests? Do you long to love God more, but just don’t know how to do it? Are you tired of the same old sins that just won’t quit? Ya, me too. I’d encourage you to join me in meditating upon and memorizing Scripture and let your weary soul rejoice.

Here are a couple of suggestions to help you get started:

• This is a wonderfully helpful and practical little book:  Memorizing Scripture: The Basics, Blessings and Benefits of Meditating on God’s Word, by Glenna Marshall. I highly recommend this short read to get you started.

• Also, “An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture”, by Dr. Andrew Davis, is a free download in pdf format. This booklet provides techniques to memorize larger sections of Scripture, such as a whole book, but the principles are the same for shorter sections, and I’ve found this approach helpful.

“When your heart feels dull and dry, resist the urge to fill up the void with entertainment or noise. Lead your apathetic heart to Psalm 145 and fill up the emotional void with truth about the God you are striving to love with your whole heart.”

– Glenna Marshall, Memorizing Scripture, pg. 72.

Amen.