on scripture memory

As I mentioned a while back, I've been enjoying the side effects

of scripture memory lately. This got me to thinking about what

I think are the main reasons to memorize a larger chunk of the Bible, how I've

failed at this before, and why it's going so swimmingly this time around.

Since I believe that the Bible is the most clear and direct way that God,

through his Holy Spirit, communicates with us, I have to think that

becoming thoroughly acquainted with it is vital. The Bible is a large

book, however, and daunting. It is also consistent and cohesive. So

the best way I've found to become familiar with it is to take a large

section and stick the whole thing in my brain. As I repeatedly review the

different parts of that section, I discover unexpected connections,

repeated words, and continuing themes which I had never before

(even with prolonged study) noticed. Further, I have found that as I

roll the words around in my mind, I recognize how they might

inform the events and conversations that are current in my life. I hear

God speak to me and to my friends. I'm able to directly quote what He

is saying to us. Finally, I find that as I pray, truths about God and what's

on his heart come bursting to the forefront from these words put

to memory. I experience communing with God in a whole new way as I

hear, speak, and respond to these words.

 

In the past, I've attempted to  memorize both small and large passages

of the Bible without a great deal of success. I have a bunch of random

verses tucked away in various pockets of my brain with no references

attached. I also once had the first seven chapters of the book of John

down, most of which have since disappeared.

This time around, however, it's falling into place more easily. Based on

this recent experience of memorizing Ephesians (I'm almost done --

half a chapter to go!), here are my suggestions:

• Memorize with a friend.

Hannah and I review whatever we're each working on regularly.

We're both using slightly different translations and at our own

pace, so it's kind of like we're memorizing something completely

different. That's fine. We just each bring a copy for the other

person to look at while we review. We may only run through a

paragraph every once in a while, or a whole chapter once a month.

But having someone else actually look at the words and catch

mistakes that are getting ingrained is essential. Also motivating.

My kids think it's a great game to quiz me on paragraphs in the

car -- even Elliott, who can't read yet (he finds all the 'ands' and

'the's' and points them out). Sometimes I quote it to them to lull

them to sleep at night.

•  Don't memorize all the reference numbers.

My biggest hangup with memorizing the Bible is trying to get all

those numbers down. So I say, get rid of them! If you've ever read

the Bible before, you may have noticed that each page is full of

little numbers around the text. These handy little add-ons were

assigned long after the Bible was written, and they help people find

what they're looking for, talk about them with other people, and

those kinds of things. However, they are not what I'm interested

in memorizing. They have no internal meaning, so remembering

them along with the text is plain unwieldy. This time I chucked

most of the numbers and am working by chapter and paragraph only.

•  Break it down into paragraphs.

As I just mentioned, I think paragraphs are the way to go.

As I memorize & review, I start by stating the chapter and paragraph

I'm working on: "Ephesians 4, paragraph 3" for example. This helps

keep all the parts in order.

• Use a friendly translation.

I've found that the New Living Translation is a lot more direct

and less wordy than some other versions of the Bible. This makes it

easier to memorize, simply because there are fewer words on the page.

It is also broken down into smaller paragraphs, so the whole

paragraph approach works more readily.

• Have a master copy/format that you always go back to.

When memorizing a bunch of words and sentences, there has to

be a consistent visual framework to support them until they are

in place. I like to go online to a place like biblegateway.com,

copy the whole text into a word document and format it into a clear

layout with paragraphs numbered and one chapter to a page if possible.

Then the words and paragraphs are always at the same spot on the page.

• Put each paragraph on a 3x5 card.

To break it down further, each paragraph can go on an index card.

The index card for the section you are working on can go with you

wherever you are. Tuck it in your pocket, post it on the bathroom

mirror, put it in the windowsill or on your dashboard. After I have

this particular paragraph memorized, it will go in an index card holder

with all the other cards. Write the chapter & paragraph numbers on the

back, and you have flash cards. Then you can review contextually (the

whole chapter) or randomly.

• Make mini-deadlines.

I'm aiming for a chapter (oops!) a paragraph a week generally, although I take
weeks off for review if things seem to be getting shaky. No hurry here, but if you
let go of the whole thing for too long, it starts disappearing!

• Review often!

Developing a habit of memory and review while cleaning or driving, or

as the first thing you do when there's a bit of free time helps the whole

thing come together and stay in place while it becomes firmly rooted.

Whew! That took forever to write and probably even longer to read.
I've been really encouraged by this process, though, and maybe you will be too!