If I decide that I need to be memorizing God’s Word, how do I get started? How do I do it? (Part 2 of 3.)

Some Christians give assent to the need to memorize Scripture, but they are just not sure how to get started.

I believe there is one major key to getting Scripture memorized. It is repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.

It takes more repetition than we ever thought it would. We must put it through our minds over and over and over and over. Finally, it begins to stick.

And once we get it memorized, if we don’t continue to repeat it, we will lose it. It will no longer be on the tip of our tongue. But don’t despair! It will be easier to memorize next time! And eventually, if we persist, there will come a time when it is “engrafted” into our lives. It is a part of us.

You have probably already done that with a few verses. Like John 3:16. We just need to do it with many more verses!

The strategy that works for most Christians is to write (or type) the verse on a card and have it with you at all times. Then, when you have moments of time, you repeat it and repeat it and repeat it again. It could be while you are driving. Mornings are probably best, since our brains seem more receptive early in the day.

You may wish to write the topic of the verse on one side of the card and the verse on the other side.

Later, as you memorize more verses, you may wish to make your own recording. You could download a recording/sound editing program to your computer, like audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/), record your verses and save them as mp3 files, then play them back on your mp3 player, trying to quote the verses before and as you listen to them.

But if that seems a bit complicated, the old-fashioned card system works great! After you accumulate several cards, you will need to come up with a “rotation” system to review.

It will help if you have a “buddy system.” It’s easier to persevere if you have a friend who is working with you, each of you holding the other accountable. But since Bible verse memory is not a very popular pursuit, it may hard to find an accountability partner! But the Holy Spirit will spur you on. Just listen to Him!

As with most other spiritual disciplines, the hardest part can be just getting started. We tend to have great intentions of getting these things done–just not right now–later. That kind of thinking is deadly!

So–when are you going to start? Got your cards? No? When are you going to get some cards? Index cards are cheap! Don’t answer, “Someday!”

And–which verses are you going to memorize?

That’s the subject of the next post!

steve@aboundingjoy.com