The Importance of Scripture
Memorization
Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Ps.
119:11)
Memorization is very
important if you want to overcome sin and temptation. It is almost
impossible to do this without memorizing Scripture. When you are
tempted, you can overcome more easily if you quote Scripture out loud.
The Scripture will come to your mind naturally when you are
tempted, and you will know to do the right thing. If you quote
the verses aloud and you sincerely know the Lord, I can see no way that
you could continue sinning. It will give you a strong warning,
and you will not want to commit that particular sin. The Word of
the Lord is the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and it is the
only offensive weapon in the Armour of God.
I learned from
experience that I need to memorize Scripture to overcome sin. If
I didn't review my memory verses or memorize new verses, I found myself
tempted more often, and I found it harder to overcome.
When Jesus was
tempted by Satan, He quoted Scripture to rebuke the devil, and he
quoted it from memory (He did not have written Scriptures with Him in
the wilderness!)
O how I
love thy law! it is my meditation all the day. (Ps. 119:97)
I will
meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. (Ps. 77:12)
Meditate
upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all.
(1
Tim 4:15)
Memorization of
Scripture leads to meditation on God's Word. I find this happens
often with me when I am reviewing verses that I already have memorized.
I will be recalling a verse from memory and I will try to find
the meaning of the parts of the passage, or I will get a
cross-reference from the Holy Ghost to a verse that
I have read previously , which I will usually look up, unless it is a
verse I have already memorized. Looking up these cross-referenced
verses will usually help you to understand the passage you were
meditating on. In order to receive these cross-references, you have to
read your Bible daily.
Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land,
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words
of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north
even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the
Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:11,12)
Memorizing
Scripture is very important for times of persecution. Memorization helps
you to overcome the persecution and gives you joy and comfort in
oppression. When you recite Scripture to yourself during times of
persecution, you will forget your troubles and be filled with joy, for
great is your reward in Heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
that were before you. (Matt. 5:12)
Memorizing
God's Word is very important because, in times of persecution, Bibles
are banned and confiscated. If you did not memorize it before
hand, you will not be able to use it. You cannot read a Bible that you
do not have. When they take our Bibles away, we will have to rely on
the Scripture that we have memorized. Groups of Christians should
memorize different passages of Scripture so that they can share it with
other Christians. If they memorize different passages, they will
have more of the Bible with them than if everyone memorizes the same
passages.
How to
Memorize Scripture:
The best way to
memorize Scripture is to put your memory verses into categories, like
salvation, the Word of God, and overcoming sin.Memorisation of
Scripture is not that hard, especially if you use the King James Version.
I usually memorize a
verse by first writing it out in it's entirety, and then reading it a
couple of times. Then, I will put my Bible and the
copy of the verse away, and try to write the verse as best as I can.
Then I will check with my copy of the verse and correct every
mistake in a different color, filling in everything that I missed.
I will then study the second paper for a few minutes, noting my
mistakes. Then I will put it away, and try writing the verse
again. I keep doing this until I have it correct for a couple of times.
Another tip in
memorizing: Look for patterns.
Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Phil
4:8)
Think this
is a hard verse to memorize? Well think again. Here is how
I memorized it: I noticed that it repeats the "whatsoever
things are" six times, with a different word/phrase at the end of
each. I Made a list of these phrases in my mind: true,
honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and I noticed that "whatsoever
things are" goes before each of these words. After this, all
you have to remember is the Finally brethren at the beginning
and the if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things at the end of the verse. It's that simple!