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The rewards of Scripture memorization

Lena Bergen Friesen

As far back as I can remember, memorizing Scripture was a part of every Sunday. Each of us children had to recite one Bible verse for the Sunday school teacher. Our reward was a little card with a pretty picture and a new verse to learn for the next Sunday. Later, our teachers in Vacation Bible School encouraged memorizing Scripture by offering bigger rewards such as a New Testament or a Bible. At that time, I did not realize that the promises of rewards were helping me to gain a greater reward, which was having God’s Word in my heart where it could help me.

One summer, one of our teachers taught an important object lesson. He told us that the Word of God is like water (Ephesians 5:26). If our hearts soak up God’s Word as a sponge soaks up water, then, when Satan comes with his fiery darts of temptation (which the teacher illustrated with lit matches), the sponge heart only needs to release the Word (water) on those darts and they will be extinguished. But, if our hearts are hard (which he illustrated with a tin heart), we will fail to soak up the Word and Satan’s fiery darts will cause us to sin (just as the lit matches blackened the tin heart). He urged us to memorize verses and use them as Jesus did when He was being tempted in the wilderness. This was an amazing truth to me, and I determined to have a “sponge heart”.

But while I was studying for my profession, teaching and then raising children, I stopped memorizing Scripture, except for the verses I learned together with my Sunday school students. I did not realize how much I was missing until the accident. It was only a small accident, but it changed my life significantly.

One autumn day, my goal was to clean a bathroom window that I had not been able to budge in the spring. Armed with a ladder and other tools, I climbed up to the window. Just when I had succeeded in prying the window off, the ladder collapsed. When I picked myself up, I discovered that my right hand was hanging at a distorted angle – I had broken my wrist. While I was recovering from surgery, a friend brought me a card that said, “Read Psalm 91 every day.” Lying there, I started doing that. The Psalm was so comforting and brought such a sense of God’s presence and care that the thought came to me: “Why not memorize it?” So I did. Then I memorized Psalm 90, Psalm 92 and so on up to Psalm 95.

That winter, our choir director challenged us to memorize the entire book of James. At first, this seemed something of an impossibility; but some of us accepted the challenge and did it. What a blessing that was! Through reciting it again and again, I discovered James to be a rich book which touches on almost every area of the Christian life. Memorizing it had a cleansing effect on me, just like water purifying a body. It also helped me to keep the faith in times of discouragement. These were rewards no one could take away from me – of more value than silver and gold.

Since then, I have come to a systematic way of memorizing Scripture that works for me. On my birthday, I choose a chapter to learn for that year – maybe a Psalm that corresponds with my age (we can do this till we are 150 years old!).

Some of you may think learning only one chapter a year is too small a goal. However, I find that if I repeat a chapter daily after I have learned it, it is more likely to become a part of me. Also, a small goal is attainable and so I am not tempted to quit before I reach that goal or to go on a guilt trip for failing to reach it. It is very rewarding to be able to recite a whole book of the Bible as I go on my daily walk. Reciting longer portions of Scripture such as Psalm 139 has soothed me to sleep when facing surgery in the hospital and when suffering from insomnia. I can praise the Lord with a Psalm and be encouraged in my faith because this exercise helps me to focus on what is really important.

If Jesus needed to know the Scriptures, how much more do I need God’s Word to snuff out Satan’s fiery darts on a daily basis? A memory bank of Scripture is a priceless treasure. Memorizing Scripture is not just for children and youth, but for adults too.

Lena Bergen Friesen is a member of Waterloo (Ont.) MB Church.

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Last modified November 16, 2000.

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