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Scripture Memory Help

Ellerslie’s Advanced Training

 

We will cover much of this during the Advanced orientation but since you need to memorize Philippians 1 before then, the following thoughts and techniques will help you get started.

 

1. The Author Lives Inside

A key to Scripture memory is realizing that the Author Himself lives inside your life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Though you could memorize Scripture in your own wisdom and ability, what if you didn’t have to? God wants you to know His Word, and He will enable you to memorize and recall His Word—which is a good reason to always start your times memorizing in prayer.

 

2. Start Slow

If you haven’t memorized much lately, you will find that starting slow will help. Our memory is like a muscle that needs to be exercised and strengthened for optimal performance. Don’t start with an entire paragraph, start with the first verse or two and continue adding another verse as needed.

 

3. Understand Context

When you engage in memorizing longer passages, it is helpful to know the context and flow of what you will be memorizing. Before you start memorizing Philippians, read through the entire book (a couple times is even better). When you know Paul’s flow of thought, it will help you keep things organized as you memorize. Likewise, reading Philippians chapter one each day between now and the start of Advanced will not only help you memorize faster but will also engrain it deeper in your heart and mind. If you have time, learn some details behind the book itself: why did Paul write Philippians, who were the Philippians, where was Paul when he wrote it, etc.

 

4. Recite, Read, Listen, Quote

Memorizing a single verse is relatively easy, but memorizing longer passages is far more challenging. The key is consistency in your memorization and having a plan can make things a lot easier:

  • Give the priority of your memorization time to reviewing old verses. Begin each day’s memorization with a review of the verses you already learned.
  • Memorize the verse numbers. This seems like a waste of time and a bit tedious but I promise it will help you later on in life (and it actually makes memorization easier in the long run). It will also help you not forget a verse in a long passage and it helps when you quote a specific verse to someone to know exactly where its found.

Suggested Daily Procedure:

  • Recite the previous day’s verse 10 times out loud. Look at your Bible if you need to.
  • Recite all the verses in chapter one that you’ve memorized (remember to say verse numbers)
  • Read and say today’s (new) verse 10 times out loud – it is really helpful for you to see and hear it
  • Quote the new verse 10 times out loud without looking

 

5. Repetition is good … over time

Saying a verse 50 times in one day is good … but not as effective as saying that same verse everyday for 50 days. This is a longterm process, so don’t pack everything into one day. If you follow the suggested daily procedure above, you will eventually be spending the bulk of your memorization time quoting previous verses—this is exactly what you want!

Even after you have the entire book memorized, you should spend time daily (for the next 100 days) reciting the entire book to keep it in your memory.

 

6. A few fun (and helpful) ideas

  • Write today’s verse(s) on an index card so you can keep it with you to look at throughout the day. Being able to memorize while you drive, wait in line, and brush your teeth (even if its in your head) is helpful.
  • If you have a problem keeping the words in their correct order, write down the first letter of each word on a card. For example Philippians 1.1 (NKJV) would be: PATBOJC, TATSICJWAIP, WTBAD.
  • If you are an app fanatic, there are a couple good Scripture memory apps for the iPhone/iPad (not sure what is good for Android, sorry): Scripture Typer & Remember Me. They have different helps, games, and ideas to aid your Bible memory.
  • I love to listen to the Bible in my car. Getting an audio Bible with the same translation can help you hear the book in a different way … and it’s a fun challenge to try to quote the verses alongside the audio (forces you to quote faster than most people normally recite them). I recommend the Word of Promise Audio Bible (click for a direct link to purchase Philippians on Audible for under $5 … the entire Bible is great too).

 

7. Why NKJV?

At Ellerslie, we mainly quote from the KJV in our sessions. But after much thought we decided that for Scripture memory we would recommend the NKJV. Here’s why:

  • When all the students memorize from the same translation, it makes everything consistent and actually aids everyone’s memorization.
    • Getting together with roommates, at the meal tables, or as a big group to quote Philippians is easier when everyone has the same translation because the words and flow are the same. When students use different translations to recite together, it is harder to follow along and doesn’t have the added benefit of hearing the passage repeated as you’ve memorized it.
  • The NKJV is a little easier to understand and it flows a bit better than the KJV
  • The NKJV is still a good word-for-word translation based on the Textus Receptus

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Enjoy the process of memorizing Philippians! We look forward to having you on campus soon!

Cheering you ever deeper into Jesus!
NRJohnson