Bible Truth for Everyday Life

How to Memorize Scripture More Consistently: 3 Tips to Help You

Do you want to be more consistent about spending time with God or learn how to memorize Scripture?  I pray that this glimpse into our family’s rhythms will inspire and equip you to memorize God’s Word in a way that works for you.  Welcome to our living room.

How to Memorize Scripture: 3 Tips to Help You

Morning comes softly this time of year. Today, it came with ash-colored cumulus clouds spilling over the horizon like breakers rolling onto a sandy shoreline. The treeline was flecked with yellows and oranges where the maples had surrendered to the season.

After a few minutes by the window, I gathered the kids in the living room for morning devotions.  We reviewed this week’s memory verse and talked about learning to hide God’s Word in our hearts.

I pulled out our folder of past memory verses and challenged them to recall some of our favorite promises.

Little Aiden was quick to recite his favorite verse: “When I am afraid, I will trust you” (Psalm 56:3).

Everyone recited Genesis 1:1 in unison: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

The older two children recited most of Psalm 23 (minus a few verses), and we started the day feeling inspired and grounded.

We haven’t always memorized Scripture as a family.  We made intermittent attempts when our oldest child, Bekah, was young, but by the time three little ones filled our home, it was easy to neglect the discipline.

In a similar way, I memorized countless verses in my twenties; however, when kids came along and mom-brain settled in, memorization took a backseat to survival.

The Power of God’s Word

If this is you, if you’re just trying to get through your days, there is grace for your season.  However, even in the fullest and most exhausting seasons, you can hide God’s Word in your heart and strengthen your spirit.

Over the past years, I’ve discovered several practical ways to memorize Scripture.  Perhaps one of these methods will work for you, too.

Memorizing God’s Word is the primary way God renews our minds.

As we aim to align our thoughts with God’s thoughts and have the mind of Christ, filling our minds with Truth is vital.  Let’s look at three ways to hide God’s Word in our hearts.

How to Memorize Scripture Consistently

1. Memorize one verse each week.

Pick a verse to memorize each week.  Write it on a notecard or piece of paper, or save it as the background on your phone.  The key is to put it where you will see it.

Every week, I pick a new verse and write it using colorful markers.  I hang it on the fridge, and our whole family works on memorizing it.  I pull the sheet of paper off of the fridge during morning devotional time with the kids.  By reviewing it every morning, they can generally repeat it by the end of the week.

Right now, we are picking one verse from each book of the Bible and systematically going through the Scriptures.  This is helping the kids learn a wide variety of verses, and it is also helping them memorize the order of the books of the Bible.

After we memorize a verse, I put the sheet of paper in a folder.  Once or twice a week, I pull out the folder, and we review a handful of verses we have already learned.  This helps us retain the verses.

Psalm 56:3 was the first verse we memorized together.  Aiden was two years old at the time.  The words stuck with him, which is why this is his favorite verse.

You don’t have to have kids to do this.   The key is to adapt the discipline to make it work for you.

2. Memorize Scriptures you can sing.

Some Bible verses have inspired songs.  For example, the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” was inspired by Lamentations 3:23.

All three of our children can easily sing Psalm 119:105, which says, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

Search for Bible verse songs, and you might quickly commit these verses to memory.

3. Create a flipbook of verses.

Before we had children, I carried a flipbook of Bible verses with me at all times.  I kept the book in my purse and pulled it out when I was waiting in doctor’s offices, riding in the car with my husband, and eating lunch at my desk at work.

Every time I memorized a new verse, I wrote it in the book.

The flipbook was an easy way to keep track of the verses I had memorized and also continue reviewing these Truths.

I often carried my flipbook of verses on long walks.  At times, I wrote entire Psalms and entire chapters of the Bible in my flipbook.

While taking long walks, I worked on memorizing my verses.

This discipline radically transformed my relationship with God.

Read here for three practical tips to help you learn how to memorize Scripture more consistently. #MemorizeScripture #GodsWord Click To Tweet

When it comes to hiding God’s Word in your heart, the key is to find a method that works for you.  You don’t have to memorize entire books of the Bible.

This is not a competition to see how many verses you can memorize.  Instead, it is an invitation to deepen your relationship with God.

Begin with one verse.  Work on it until you can speak it without the words in front of you, even if it takes a month.  Then, begin again.  All great journeys begin with one small step.

A Free Devotional Book for You:

Lastly, I have a gift for you today: my free 31-day devotional Mornings With JesusMornings With Jesus is not your average daily devotional—it is so much more!  This devotional is unique because, in addition to daily readings and reflection questions, it also offers a special section at the end of each post called “Your Invitation to Encounter God and Begin Well.”  These exercises will help you actually encounter the Living God during your quiet time.   Instead of asking $9.99, I’m offering this devotional for free with promo code JESUS for a limited time right here.

Help Your Daughter or Granddaughter Grow in Faith

Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am also passionate about ministering to the next generation.

My 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together.  We hope to help moms and daughters connect and grow in faith together.  Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.

Our vision is for girls ages 7-17 to enjoy it with their moms, grandmas, or older women they look up to.  However, mothers and daughters of all ages are using this book to grow closer together!  This book makes a wonderful gift for a mother or daughter you care about!

You can buy your paperback or eBook on Amazon right here.

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I’m passionate about equipping others to encounter God in powerful and life-changing ways. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me hiking, jogging, exploring wild places with my three young children and husband, leading small groups, and mentoring younger women. A certified special education teacher, I am on leave from the classroom for a season of chasing frogs and playing in creeks with my little ones. Most of all, the compassionate love of Jesus has forever ravished my heart, and I'm emphatic about making his love known to the world.