In his second post, Abe Stratton encourages us “to step out in faith – to memorize a section of Scripture that is larger than we think we can handle.”
Why?
Because the rewards are great and eternal!
SIX ENCOURAGEMENTS TO SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION
- Memorize for the Long Haul.
- Persevere Through Hard Days.
- Memorize Strategically.
- Find a Quiet, Undisturbed Location.
- Share Your Experiences With Others.
- Memorizing the Word is Undervalued and Under-Practiced Today.
1. Memorize for the Long-Haul.
Set a goal (e.g., memorizing a Psalm or even a book of the Bible).
Stick with it.
But…
- Don’t be in a hurry. You don’t even have to set a deadline. The purpose is to meditate on the very words of God and incorporate them into life, not finish by a certain date.
- Don’t hold onto your plan too tightly. It can be easy to cherish your plan of memorization instead of cherishing God’s Word. Let the Word be most important to you, not your plan.
Personal Examples.
It took me three years to memorize Romans, and I remember thinking at the outset, “I’m going to stick with this no matter how long it takes.” But frankly, I don’t know if I would have started if I’d known it would take 3 years. Sometimes plunging into something without scoping it out to the nth degree can save a lot of anxiety (or despair) at the size of the goal.
2. Persevere Through Hard Days.
Work at it even when your mind is distracted and your body is tired.
Personal Examples.
Some days I felt as if my memorization time wasn’t doing any good. It seemed as if I were working through the same set of words over and over, yet they weren’t finding a place in my head (or in my heart). However …
I believe there is value
- To washing ourselves with the Word even when we don’t think it’s doing much good. The Word of God is alive and powerful, and the Holy Spirit wields his sword in ways we cannot always see or sense.
I believe there is value
- To “sweating” in memorization. Let’s be honest: it’s hard work. As with physical exercise, there are days when you don’t want to or don’t feel like doing it. However, the effort, the strain, the labor is part of our imperfect human experience, and God himself is the reward of our memorization.
Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. - Galatians. 6:9
3. Memorize Strategically.
Memorize for Your Own Spiritual Growth.
What do you need? What are you struggling with? Where is your view of God deficient?
- I realized that I had a deficient view of how grace and the law interact and work together.
- I thought that Romans was one of the best places in Scripture to think through this issue.
- Memorize through the Word. I am not completely against memorizing verses on a topic (e.g., purity or the tongue).
- However, memorizing through a longer portion of Scripture makes you understand God’s thinking surrounding particular verses that we often pull out of context.
- Alternate between the OT and NT. (I’m now working on Ecclesiastes.)
- It’s not wise to memorize only passages of Scripture that “I like.”
- Memorize Scripture that stretches you and expands your view of God.
It will help you stay focused.
It will help you speak as loudly as you want, and you don’t have to be afraid of what people will think.
It will help your mind will begin to get into a routine; it recognizes when you’re going to the same plce for the same purpose.
You could be the catalyst the Spirit uses to push others to cherish and memorize the Word.
- At times I feel like it’s bragging to share these thoughts.
- But if I can serve other brothers and sisters and encourage them to meditate on the life-giving Word, then I cannot keep my mouth shut.
This is evidenced in personal decisions or conclusions which are contrary to the Scripture, but which we so easily justify.
If our minds are to be renewed…If our bodies are to be holy and blameless at the appearing of our Savior…If we are to be a people zealous for good works…If the Gospel is going to be precious to us…If our Savior is going to be more precious than anything else…
Then his Word must be dwelling richly in our minds.
followers so that individual believers will be sanctified, the church will be built up, and ultimately our God will be glorified!
Jesus encourages us to let his words abide in us. This book teaches how to do that when it comes to prayer. From the writings of Paul, Carson demonstrates how the words of Scripture should inform our words in prayer. He also addresses age-old struggles when it comes to prayer, like reconciling prayer with God’s sovereignty. It’s simple enough to take a new Christian through, thorough enough to warrant several readings, and important enough not to ignore. (Click on the link above to see the Table of Contents.)
and then focuses chiefly on Supplication. The author’s point is this: “Like Jesus’ own prayer, Christian prayer is ultimately a cry for the kingdom” (23). The rest of the book unpacks what that means for the individual and for the church. The final chapter includes practical suggestions and encouragements to those praying in public, praying alone, and praying together as Christians. The weakness of the book is that it’s a bit philosophical in places, and it’s not as helpful in reconciling prayer with God’s sovereignty.
It’s sure to change the way you think about prayer and the gospel. 
