“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.”
~Proverbs 3:3 ESV
God’s steadfast love and faithfulness ought to be our most treasured piece of jewelry. In Hebrew, steadfast love is the word hesed. It represents the deep, enduring love of a personal connection. (A wonderful book to learn more about this meaningful Hebrew concept is The Other Half of the Church.) Faithfulness is the Hebrew word emeth, denoting firmness and truth as well, according to Strong’s Concordence. If you think about it, Scripture is one magnificient way God has revealed His love and faithfulness to us. Through it, He connects with us– God’s Word is “living and active” (Heb. 4:12). God’s fullest Word– Jesus Himself–has manifested God’s goodness, grace, and truth, His entire plan for salvation. Jesus reported, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Like a rock, His Word is firm and steady, unchanging and sure. The “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” can fight off the lies of the Enemy (Eph. 6:17). And we are instructed to write steadfast love and faithfulness on our hearts. Memorizing Scripture is one way we can do this.
For the past six months, I have been engaging in this spiritual discipline. It has been such a blessing in my life. Today, I hope to provide some tips that may help you bind God’s Word around your neck as well. It will adorn your thoughts, emotions, attitudes, speech, and actions with His grace and truth. Let’s proceed!
Determine Your Goal
Having a desired destination usually motivates people to embark on the journey. I have found the same to be accurate with memorizing Scripture. I set my own personal goal for memorization. With that goal, I had somewhere to start, can measure my progress, and am incentivized to push ahead when it’s hard. Consider setting a memorization goal yourself. Make a list of Bible verses to memorize one at a time. Determine a specific chapter or book of the Bible to memorize. There are lots of options.
Determine Your Learning Style
There are many learning styles such as kinetic, auditory, or visual. What method of memorization helps you the most? Do you need to speak your Scripture passage, listen to it on the YouVersion Bible App, or write it out? Knowing your learning style will allow you to spend your time memorizing more efficiently. Speaking my Scripture passage works best for me. I try to learn a passage half-hazardly and then repeat it seven times. It works very well for placing that passage into my long-term memory.
Determine Your Memorization Time
Practice makes perfect! How much time and when you work on memorization will become a personal preference. It takes me about 15-20 minutes in the morning to review my past Scripture memory and learn one or two new verses. For example, I am memorizing some Psalms right now. If I have 10 Psalms memorized, I may spend 10 minutes reviewing my choice of 1-5 of them and 5 minutes learning 2 new verses.
Be Patient
We have now covered the basic steps, but a word of encouragement is to be patient. You may feel that memorization happens slowly. That’s often true. Like collecting pennies, one verse added to another and so on creates a bulk of memorized Scripture overtime.
Determine Your Season of Life
Sometimes, life is slower and your brain can work diligently on Scripture memorization. Other times, life is busy and chaotic. Your time may be spread thin, but don’t worry! Jesus once told some Pharisees that God desired mercy and not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13). In other words, God is pleased to show mercy to those who earnestly seek Him. He is concerned most about your heart of love for Him, not empty accomplishments or service to Him that is impressive to other people. Try to create space in your schedule for Scirpture memorization, but there are other ways to write God’s Word on your heart. Get creative!
Try Scripture Songs
Many people have put Scripture to music. A personal favorite of mine is Seeds Family Worship. They can be found on Spotify for free among other places.
One of the blessings of Scripture memorization is recognizing its recitation at church or in other spheres. Give it a shot! I hope these tips give you insight and encouragement for growing closer to the Lord! May you delight in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness!
