How to Train Your Bible Memory

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. — Psalm 119:11

As Psalm 119:11 beautifully expresses, the Bible gives us God’s word in a tangible, consumable medium that offers us comfort, guidance, and hope throughout our lives. As the psalmist hints, the better we are able to recite, know, and ponder God’s Word, the better we are able to follow Him, to please Him, and to live out the joy of knowing God in our daily lives.

Most are nodding in agreement. We dearly want to hide God’s Word in our heart, to know Him better, and to know more how to live in ways that honor Him. On the other hand, life has so many claims on our attention; we feel short on time, and perhaps we just don’t know quite where to begin committing Scripture to memory. And it does take time. After all, anything we believe is worthwhile takes our time and attention. A good analogy might found in the time we dedicate to our health. To become more fit, we make a plan to work out we follow particular steps and strategies. In the same way, memorizing Scripture won’t just “happen.” We need to be intentional, make a plan, and try a variety of approaches. Mix it up, try new things, enjoy the process of exploring God’s Word and making it part of you.

In a Desiring God article, Jimmy Needham offers some practices that can help us have a better memory for God’s Word:

Explore the Text 

Most of the longer passages I’ve committed to memory have been the happy byproduct of simply enjoying them long enough — digging into the text, looking up keywords, cross-referencing passages, reading commentaries, and marking up my Bible. The more I dug around, the more familiar I became with the author’s flow of thought, or the way a particular story or paragraph unfolded.

Give it a Soundtrack

Next time you’re facing a long passage of Scripture to memorize, you might try getting out your smart phone and recording yourself reading the passage with a familiar piece of instrumental music playing in the background. Let that short recording be your new favorite song for the week. Play it in your car on your drive to work. Listen to it while you go for a walk. When you begin to feel more confident in what you’ve memorized, go back and listen to the track without your voice. You’ll likely find that your recording served as a type of training wheels for your mind.  

Be willing to fail in public.

I’m not suggesting a massive public face-plant. I’m suggesting a more controlled burn where you can dictate who your audience will be and where it will go down. For me, it’s usually my wife and her friends sitting in our living room. When I’ve gotten a couple error free recitations under my belt on my own, I want to share it with others.
. . .

Many of us will never recite Scripture on a stage, but I will say this: If you can quote Scripture in front of an audience successfully, you have truly memorized it.

Turn down the noise. 

In our modern age of social media, streaming music, 24-hour news outlets, and around-the-clock work schedules, it is near impossible for our minds to linger over anything meaningful for very long. When I am memorizing a particularly long passage, I often unplug from many of those distractions. Car rides become silent, radio-free journeys. Apps get deleted. Podcasts get missed. Take the time to identify one or two distractions that can be sacrificed in order to make way for the quietness and concentration memorization requires. Fast from those things, at least for a time, for the sake of your memorization. You’ll never regret making space for God’s word.

Use it or lose it.

In third grade, my teacher challenged our class to memorize Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. At eight years old, I was her only student to recite it. At the time I felt pretty accomplished, but ask me to deliver it now and I’ll only get through the first line or two. Memorizing something isnot like riding a bike. We forget and forget quickly. If you don’t build in a system of regular rehearsal, you cannot possibly expect to hold onto many verses for long.
. . .

Whatever your method, review is key. The deeper you hide God’s word in your heart, the less likely it is to sneak away when you need it most.