I have always admired Pastor Daniel Foo of BBTC who quotes scripture on the fly! So In 2018, at the start of the year, I began an attempt to memorize God’s Word. I decided to memorize the entire Romans chapter 8 which spans thirty-three verses. I was doing well in the beginning and was able to memorize the first 10 verses. But as work and life got busier, I was thrown off course in my daily reviewing of the verses I memorized. I struggled to get back into the rhythm of memorizing scripture and eventually discontinued my scripture memory endeavour. On retrospection, I learned some important lessons from it.
The mind is like a muscle, and like any muscle, it loses its strength when not exercised. We use our memory in our daily lives, like remembering phone numbers, addresses and important information like our identity card number. However, as we become overly reliant on smartphones and gadgets, our ability to memorise and retain information over time weakens. Memorizing scripture is much like bringing the mind to the gym and getting a good workout. Here are some tips to help us kickstart our scripture memory:
- Start small, don’t be overly ambitious!
One mistake that I made in my scripture memory attempt was being overly ambitious in wanting to conquer a new verse every day. Instead of trying to memorise a new verse each day, I should have made it a point to review daily what I have memorized. Regular review is the key to long term retention. Start memorising a verse but do daily reviews to commit it to long term memory.
- Use tools to help you memorize!
When I was a youth, I used Navigator’s Topical Memory System to help me memorise scripture. Bible verses came printed in a small pack of cards which was handy to carry around. I would review verses on the bus and journey home. Nowadays, there are many mobile apps that help users memorise scripture. The Bible Memory App and Fighter Verses App are two apps that I am currently using to memorise scriptures. There are topical verse collections regarding e.g. anxiety, depression, temptation or anger, that users can choose from and start memorising.
- Find a friend/colleague/SG member to do it with.
Find an accountability partner to memorize scripture with. It is easy to lose motivation and momentum in memorizing scriptures alone so it helps to have someone come alongside and journey with. Mutual encouragement will make memorizing scripture less arduous and more pleasant! If you need someone to do scripture memory with, you can find me! I will be more than glad to do it with you!
Psalms 1:2 exhorts us to delight in and meditate on God’s Word day and night. Scripture memory is an important and intentional way of depositing God’s Word into our hearts and minds. It is by storing up God’s Word in our hearts that we can fight sin and resist the enemy!
One of the greatest benefits of scripture memory is being able to pray and stand on God’s promises! As we commit our minds to remember God’s Word, we can confidently pray and believe His promises for our lives! I highly encourage you to embark on the journey of scripture memor
By Lee Ee Foo, Pastoral Staff (YCKC Bulletin 19&20 January 2019)