“Memory,” said Cicero, “is the treasury and guardian of all things.” The little girl however, had a different idea when she defined memory as “the thing that I forget with.”
The human mind is a masterpiece of God’s workmanship (Ps. 139:14). We fail to appreciate what a great trust God has given each one of us. Among many other endowments, He gave us the amazing capacities of the brain, including the one called memory. Life would be virtually impossible without it. Memory underlies our ability to think rationally and make decisions. Imagine what it would be like if we tried to drive a car and didn’t remember which was the accelerator and which the brake! In the final analysis, we know only what we can accurately remember.
How vital it is to have the memory adequately stocked with God’s Word so that mental reactions can be quickly made in accordance with God’s wisdom. In the day of trouble, the Psalmist was comforted and strengthened as he “remembered” the “song in the night” and the wondrous “works of the Lord” (Ps. 77:6).
Before the printed book, memory ruled the daily life. The fruits of education were gathered and stored in memory. Socrates (470-399 BC), lamented the adverse effects writing would have on the memory of the learner. Though he himself wrote nothing, his famous student Plato quotes him: “This discovery of yours (writing) will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories. They will be hearers of many things and will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing.”
We certainly must not deplore books. Thank God for the availability of the printed Word of God. Reading it is always to be encouraged. Though reading the Word of God is good, memorizing it is better, and meditating on it is best of all. Casual reading of the Bible is like a bee skimming over the surface of a flower, but memorizing the Scripture is where the bee penetrates into the depths of the blossom to secure the nectar. Then meditating on that Word is like the bee taking the nectar home and making it into honey. The Word in the Book makes it easily available most of the time; the Word in the mind makes it instantly accessible at all times.
ITS IMPORTANCE
Satan knows the power of God’s Word when it lodges in the human mind and heart. Like birds who devour the planted seed, he strives to remove the Word from the memory of the hearers “lest they should believe and be saved” (Lk. 8:12). He knows that what our minds feed upon becomes the most influential force in our lives, and that the remembrance and release of God’s Word in us breaks his power and forces him to retreat.
Satan keeps people from assimilating the Word of God by shutting off access to it, as has been the case in many countries throughout the centuries, or simply by inducing them to neglect it. The enemy’s grand scheme is to fill the mind with such things as will not enlighten nor influence us to seek after God.
Perhaps we fail to realize that the memory needs to be continually cleansed. It is by the sanctifying power of God that the spaces of our memory become dwelling places of eternal truth. We pray with the saint of old, “Lord, help us to remember what we ought not to forget, and to forget what we ought not to remember.”
We do well to esteem God’s Word as being more urgent than our “necessary food” (Job 23:12). We must memorize Scripture because God commands us to do so (Deut. 6:6). This was God’s directive to the Israelites who were also instructed to teach these things “diligently” to their children. It is equally God’s command for all of God’s people today. We are never sufficient of ourselves (2 Cor. 3:5). We need the Word of God to dwell richly in our hearts and be continually on our lips in order to enable us to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22).
Having a Plan
But how may a person really commit God’s Word to memory? First, you must have some definite system. The slogan is true: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. One plan which has been successfully followed by many is that of memorizing certain chapters or books of the Bible. Reading them over repeatedly with the thought of remembering them seals them in the mind.
Frances Ridley Havergal, one of the outstanding hymn writers who lived only 42 years (1836-1879), committed to memory all of the New Testament, the Book of Psalms, and Isaiah while still in her teens. Later she added the Minor Prophets.
When implemented with systematic effort, such a plan is effective and has some obvious advantages in that you follow the sequence of thought and learn the verses in their context.
Third, there must be an accountability system. Submit to thorough supervision of someone at home, in the local church, or at work, and follow a prescribed schedule of recitations.
With a desirable system of memorization before you, there must come a resolute commitment. Not only, “I want to do it,” but “I will do it.” Purpose in your heart like the Psalmist, “I will delight myself in Thy statutes; I will not forget Thy Word” (119:16).
Concentration
Concentration is the ability to converge your mental powers on a particular objective. This involves determination and discipline. Many people would like to memorize Scripture if it did not involve this arduous process of concentration. In this respect, some have eagerly grasped at mnemonics (techniques of improving the memory) and other artificial memory aids which on the surface sound very promising but which often become a distraction and a disappointment. You assimilate the Word of God best through the exercise of your mental powers in concentration.
Relaxation
It is a strange thing, that although children generally do not understand the Scriptures as well as adults, and do not possess the same appreciation for the Word, yet they memorize more quickly and remember longer than adults. Perhaps the chief reason for this is that children are free from the pressures which so universally distress adults.
There always seems to be the pressure of time. Well-meaning people say, “I just don’t have time to memorize Scripture.” There is no denying the fact that we always seem to be pushed for lack of time. But as you reflect upon the dilemma, is it not generally true that you always manage to find time for the things you desire to do most?
Then there are the inescapable pressures of daily living. There is no question but that we have to take care of these legitimate responsibilities, but it is here that we must decisively appropriate the words of our Lord: “Take no thought for your life . . . but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:25-33).
It does not really matter how long it takes. Just relax and relish the sweetness of the Word as you joyfully try to place the very words of God into the memory chambers of your mind. Think about the meaning of it. Consider each word, each phrase, each sentence. Say it out loud. Say it with enjoyment and conviction. “How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).
Suppose you have a golden chest, studded with precious stones. Everyone is curious to know what it contains. Imagine their surprise when they see rubber bands, pieces of string, paper clips, laundry claim checks, and toothpicks! What a disappointment! What a shame to have such a valuable chest used for collecting bits of trash!
The memory is like a bank. Money deposited in the institution is not only safe, but bears dividends that accumulate with time. The precious promises of God will yield dividends, which, though intangible, will be of more personal enrichment than material possessions.
The memory is like a garden. Beautiful flowers, fruits, and vegetables come with cultivation; weeds and thistles come with carelessness. Plant in the “good ground” of the honest heart the “seed” of the Word and it will result in bountiful fruit (Lk. 8: 11-15).
The Scripture Memory Fellowship has a plan for memorizing Scripture systematically, utilizing the principles in this article.