By: Josh Blavatt

Psalm 1:1-2 ESV

Blessed is the man 

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

I want to help you succeed at scripture memorization but first I want to redefine success. Memorization is hard work. It is easy to get discouraged, especially when we feel our goals may not be worth the effort. Here is a goal worth the effort of achieving: learn to delight in God’s word and meditate on it all the time. 

Scripture memorization is not the only way to pursue this goal but it is very helpful. I have found that when I am memorizing scripture I understand it better, I hear God’s voice more clearly, and I begin to see life through the lense of God’s word. I have five tips to help you learn to delight in God’s word and meditate on it all the time by memorizing it.

1. Set Good Goals

It is helpful to have goals for what you want to memorize and how quickly. But your goals must come from pure motives. Don’t set impressive goals “in order to be seen by others.” If you think you can memorize a whole epistle in one year, great! As long as that helps you learn to delight in God’s word and meditate on it all the time. If it would be more helpful for you to set your sights on just a handful of verses, do that. 

2. Partner With People

I find it easier and more enjoyable to memorize scripture with other people. My wife and I memorized the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) together. We would practice new sections out loud over lunch and review old ones over dinner. It took us about three months to learn the whole thing. We had a great time and it was so good for us!

3. Familiarize Before You Memorize

It can be helpful, before attempting to memorize a passage word-for-word, to first simply get it “in there somewhere.” Different strategies work best for different people. I like to do this by dramatically reading a passage out loud a few times. You may prefer to copy it by hand, illustrate it (doodle), sing it, come up with hand motions for it, etc. 

4. Emphasise Recall

Once your passage is “in there somewhere”, the fastest way to lock it in is to repeatedly recite it with as little help as possible. It is important to linger in the discomfort as you struggle for words. Don’t give up too quickly because finally remembering will strengthen your memory better than reading/hearing. I like to make a reference by writing the first letter of each word in a passage like this:

Psalm 1:1-2 ESV First Letters Only

B i t m w w n i t c o t w, n s i t w o s, n s i t s o s; b h d i i t l o t L, a o h l h m d a n.

This tool helps me get unstuck while still forcing me to recall the words.

5. Review Joyfully

It takes faithful frequent review to keep a passage sharp in your memory. Don’t let this discourage you. The goal is to learn to delight in God’s word and meditate on it all the time. Keep a passage sharp for as long as the effort serves your goal. It is okay to let it go for a season. It will continue to bless you even if you can no longer recall it word-for-word. Also, it is easier to re-memorize than to memorize.

Take my advice and memorize scripture in order to learn to delight in God’s word and meditate on it all the time. I hope these tips are helpful to you.