The Blessings and Benefits of Scripture Memorization
June 14, 2021 • by Glenna Marshall
As a child, I attended a church that used a popular Scripture memory program for children called Bible Drill. In addition to teaching kids how to locate any book of the Bible in five seconds or less, the program put us through a rigorous memorization course. At age six, I could recite twenty-five Bible verses on demand. Snippets of those verses are still lodged in my heart, but I will confess that after graduating from the program in elementary school, I didn’t return to Scripture memorization for thirty years.
Though I have long praised the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading and prayer, I put memorization in an extra-credit category for the super-spiritual. It’s hard enough committing to daily study, but memorizing Scripture? That’s for pastors, missionaries, and perhaps children who can’t read yet. I had access to a Bible any time I needed it. What was the point of memorizing it? I could flip through the pages of my Bible or swipe through verses on my ESV app. Does the extra step of memorizing Scripture really matter?
The Call to Memorize Scripture
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are commanded to remember his Word by storing his laws and promises in their hearts and minds. In Deuteronomy, God tells his people to “lay up these words of [his] in your heart and in your soul…talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 11:18-19). In Hebrews 10, the author exhorts us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering,” that is, the truth of the gospel in Scripture (see Heb. 10:23). Remembering and clinging to God’s Word involves an active plan to keep it at the forefront of our minds.
““Remembering and clinging to God’s Word involves an active plan to keep it at the forefront of our minds.””
In Psalm 1, the psalmist likens the happy or blessed man to a tree rooted by a stream of water. No matter the season, the tree flourishes with growth because it is perpetually fed by the stream. Similarly, the person who is regularly fed and nourished by God’s Word will grow and bear fruit. The psalmist says that this person’s “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). In Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament, the word meditates means mumbling to oneself to gain understanding. The growth and nourishment of the blessed man comes from regular examination of God’s Word—from turning it over and over in his mind.
We can utilize memorization as a tool for keeping it in the forefront of our minds—for “laying up his words” in our hearts and souls. As we recite sentences and paragraphs on a regular basis, the words lodge themselves in our hearts and minds, having a profound effect on our daily thinking and living.
Memorization Helps Us Fight Sin
I returned to Scripture memorization in my late thirties when I was feeling defeated in a particular area of sin. While I prayed for the Lord to help me put my sin to death, I knew there was more to fighting sin than just not sinning. One of those Scriptures from my childhood Bible Drill program came to mind as I prayed one day. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). It couldn’t be any plainer! To fight sin more effectively, I needed to memorize Scripture.
Paul tells us in Ephesians to outfit ourselves for battle against sin, and much of the spiritual armor he mentions is wrought from Scripture: the belt of truth, the shoes of the gospel, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (see Eph. 6:14-18). To be battle-ready, we must take up Scripture as both our offensive and defensive weapons. In a moment of temptation, God’s Word can aid us in saying no to sin.
Returning to Psalm 1 and the blessed man, we see that his delight in Scripture serves as a protection from participating in the sinful behavior of the wicked. Memorizing passages like Psalm 1 and Ephesians 6 can help us to stand firm in the face of temptation, knowing that we are equipped in Christ to obey God, and that there is great joy in doing so.
““To be battle-ready, we must take up Scripture as both our offensive and defensive weapons.””
Memorization Dilutes Our Love for Worldliness
In my fight to kill besetting sin in my life through Scripture memorization, I began to notice a gradual change in the way I thought and reacted to things. I had memorized a few psalms before diving into the book of James. I gave myself an entire year to hide it in my heart. I worked slowly through the book, sliding a printed copy of each chapter into a Ziploc bag and taping it to my shower wall and over my kitchen sink. Phrase by phrase, I rehearsed the words of the Lord while I washed my hair in the mornings or scrubbed a sink full of dishes after dinner. Attaching memorization to a daily task helped make it a regular practice.
As the weeks and months slipped by, I noticed some changes. Television shows I once watched without thought began to seem crass and even shameful. Music with questionable lyrics became distasteful. Novels that I used to term “salty” or “edgy” found their way into my kitchen trash can. The more I studied God’s Word through memorization, the less I loved the things of the world. Keeping Scripture at the front of my mind revealed that I was taking pleasure in sin and worldly living. Scripture warmed my heart with conviction and helped me to walk away from things that did not aid my spiritual growth or holiness.
Memorization Deepens Our Affections for Christ
James tells us to “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). After spending a year drawing near to God by memorizing, praying, and rehearsing his words, the Lord did more than help me fight sin and walk in obedience. He deepened my love for him.
After finishing the book of James, I moved to the book of Colossians. For two months, I focused on Colossians 1:15-23, reciting the truths of Christ’s preeminence repeatedly. As I mumbled the phrases in the shower or at the kitchen sink—“he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” and “he is before all things, and in him all things hold together”—my heart swelled with affection for the Savior who has always been, who upholds everything in the universe, who has reconciled me to God, and through whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We might think memorization is for the super-spiritual, but we are all called and equipped to hide God’s words in our hearts. If you have grown cold to the things of God, if you’re firmly entrenched in worldly living, if you feel defeated when it comes to fighting a particular area of sin, I urge you to begin memorizing Scripture. Mumble it, rehearse it, pray it, speak it, remember it. Take as much time as you need to work through a passage. Hiding God’s Word in your heart isn’t a race. Recitation isn’t necessarily the goal. Saturation is. Not only does memorization help us walk in holiness, fight our sin, and grow in affection for Christ, it also cultivates deep and abiding joy in the God who has lovingly revealed himself to us through Scripture.
Glenna Marshall is a pastor’s wife and mother of two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence and Everyday Faithfulness and writes regularly at her website on biblical literacy, suffering, and the faithfulness of God. She is a member of Grace Bible Fellowship in Sikeston, Missouri.
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