I grew up going to AWANA at church. AWANA teaches kids, from three years old to sixth grade, to memorize Bible verses. I loved AWANA, and have tried to continue memorizing God's Word, even as an adult.
Psalm 119:11 says: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Memorizing Scripture helps me to focus on God throughout the day. Memorizing is more than simply reading the Bible; by memorizing, I aim to completely immerse myself in God's Word. By doing this, I know that it will come back to me when I need it.
Everyone has their own way to memorize. Find what works for you, and use it! For me, it helps to write out what I'm memorizing. I first write the verses on index cards, which I keep together. Each week, during my daily quiet time, I write out my verse or verses for the week (usually one card's worth). On the weekends, I go through my stack and review old verses. A helpful resource that I have begun using is Scripture Typer. This website allows you to import your own selection of verses or choose from ready-made collections. Then you are able to type out the verses with about every other word showing until you have them memorized with no hints. It also keeps you accountable to review verses by showing how many are "current."
Currently I am working on memorizing the book of James. I like to memorize in bigger chunks to keep verses in their context. I have never before memorized an entire book of the Bible, so this is a challenge!
Will join me in hiding God's Word in our hearts?
Wow! The whole book of James? That is really impressive. Jordan and I write verses on post-it notes and stick them to the mirror in the bathroom so we can look at them often. Although I'll admit that I'm not great at memorizing scripture. Good for you!
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