Ideas for Scripture Memory

I’m married to a man who can quote Seinfeld episodes and the Star Wars movies backwards and forwards. It’s no wonder, then, that he’s also brilliant with Scripture recall. He’s able to recite verses verbatim, offer the appropriate reference, and also provide sweeping plot summaries of Old Testament events.

He’s got a great mind for data memory.

Me? Not so much.

I blame it on foggy Mommy brain, but the truth is that memorizing has always been hard for me. I do know this: I am a visual learner. So, I really believe it’s hard to make that transfer unless I’m “picturing” the text in my mind (which I do).

Yet I persist in my quest of finding ways to hide more Scripture in my heart.

The next item in my 31 Ways to Give Your New Year a Fresh Start, then, is this:

6. Commit to memorizing Scripture.

A few ideas I’m using:

• I have Scripture written on index cards and taped around the house at eye level: on my kitchen cabinet doors (I must log a gajillion hours each week standing in my kitchen), on the bathroom mirror, and so on. Where do you spend a lot of time?

• A friend one time talked about her idea for “shower hymns.” She printed hymn lyrics then stuffed them in plastic page protectors before taping them to the dry surface of her shower. This way she could read the hymn lyrics and sing while she showered! Was this a permanent situation? No. Eventually the water would diminish the stickiness of the tape and/or bleed under the plastic, but she still had many showers with her hymns. By the time the hymn was unreadable or coming unstuck, she was ready to print a new hymn anyway. So, here I come with my “shower verses.” Again, how many hours do we log in the shower every week? Why not redeem that time?

Seeds of Faith

• Any and all of the CDs by Seeds Family Worship are excellent tools for Scripture memory. We all know that music is a wonderful medium for getting info into our minds. These CD collections feature catchy tunes that appeal to both parents and kids.

• Review Scriptures in the evening before bedtime. I once heard a talk on learning where the speaker said that while we sleep, our minds burn our new learning into long-term memory. For that reason, she recommended studying for a test piece by piece over a several-weeks period, right before bedtime nightly. That’s a much better strategy than an all-night cram session hours before the exam. Therefore, we’d do best to learn a Scripture verse phrase by phrase over the course of a week or so, reviewing it right before falling asleep. That burns the new knowledge into our long-term memory bank.

What are your specific challenges to Scripture memory?
What techniques work for you?

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Mary Bernard

Mary Bernard is a Nashville-based writer and mother of three. She's worked in a variety of corporate and creative environments, but none is more comfortable than the dining room table in her own home. Mary loves to help moms discover God's unique call to look in their own houses for their priorities, passions, and provision.

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