3 Reasons Bible Memory is Hard (and 3 Ways to Make it Easier)
So you're finally ready to master a Bible memory habit, huh?
Maybe you've tried a few times and just couldn't get anything to stick. Or maybe you've never memorized a single verse and you're not sure where to start. Maybe you're a Scripture memory pro and have memorized so much Scripture, now you've graduated to memorizing blog posts about Scripture memory.
Okay, probably not that last one.
But if you're anything like me, it's way too easy to live in the false starts and the "I missed a day, I guess I'll never try to do anything useful again as long as I live." mentality. Sound familiar?
Scripture memory is tough. It really is.
Here are a few specific reasons and what you can do about it:
Bible memory without attention
There are just too many things to think about in today's world. With everything in the news, at work, our kids' endless streams of activities, maintaining a healthy social life, whatever the case may be, it's not easy to settle our brains down to stop and quietly commit something to memory.
Plus, with the onslaught of social media and other attention grabbers, we're kind of being trained to have a ridiculously short attention span.
How do you set yourself up to win in this kind of hostile environment?
I do believe this is one of the biggest hurdles. And if you can overcome roadblocks like this—our entire culture and lifestyle at odds with spiritual discipline—you'll find yourself in a really good place.
This is also the toughest one to have an answer on, because despite all the tips and tricks I can offer, at some point it always comes to sheer willpower.
But here are a few things to try:
Set time limits on your phone
Most phones have Screen Time settings and you can adjust the limits on different categories of apps or even specific apps themselves. For example, set social media to 1 hour a day. You'll be shocked at how fast that thing pops up and locks you out. When you hit that limit, that's a reminder to settle in for some Scripture memory.
Set reminders on your phone
There's no shame in that. It doesn't make you less spiritual if you have to have Siri remind you to memorize a Bible verse. It makes you disciplined and committed. Do it!
Break down the perceived solemnity
I may have made that term up, so let me explain.
So often we get it stuck in our head that to do something spiritually significant, we have to make a whole thing of it. There has to be a solemn shift in our state of mind and surroundings—and honestly, I think that holds us back from a lot of spiritual discipline. Maybe it's just me, but I suspect it's not.
Like, if we can't settle in with our music, just the right tea, maintain total control of our surroundings, we think that God won't honor our time or that we're doing it wrong, so it makes an easy excuse to just... not.
Break that down.
I've worked on Bible memory in all kinds of weird places. It's easy for me, as an introvert, to sit at a table or stand around and pull my phone out to scan through a verse or two. Don't be tricked into making it a whole thing.
Just do it.
Bible memory without application is hard
We start memorizing verses because we know we should. We'll look up lists of verses to memorize or maybe ask a leader or mentor in our life about where to start. All of that is fine and good, but it sometimes leads us to verses that we aren't invested in.
Now, hang on. I know what you're thinking: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable..." and yes, you're correct (that's 2 Timothy 3:16, by the way).
All Scripture is good and worth memorizing and will change your life. But as the wise Solomon said, there is a season for everything, and maybe a Scripture on grief isn't resonating with you right now because you're not grieving.
Which brings me to my point:
Memorize Scripture that you can be invested in.
It's going to go so much easier for you if you find verses that resonate with both who you are and what is happening in your life at a given time.
For example, when I was really trying to decide what to do with this very website and brand—write blogs, write books, create a social media presence, etc—I didn't feel like I had anything worth saying. Not that I was lacking ideas, but I lacked confidence. I didn't think there was any reason that someone should listen to me about anything.
But then the Lord brought me to 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 and it changed my perspective—so much so that I just had to memorize it. And it's a good thing I did, because I find myself keeping those verses in the forefront of my mind far more often than I'd like to admit.
"Such is the confidence that we have toward Christ through God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit."
Bible memory without context
The Bible is big.
There are a lot of verses, a lot of topics, and literally thousands of years of history covered in those pages. Sometimes I find myself working on a passage or verse and I forget what I'm actually supposed to be piecing together in the first place.
Sometimes we dive into memorizing a verse without really considering the surrounding message, the meaning in context, and even the historical side of the passage.
At best, that can make it difficult to memorize, because the words lack a foundation and grounding in knowledge and intent. At worst, it can lead to a complete misunderstanding or misrepresentation of Scripture (proponents of the much maligned "prosperity Gospel" are the first culprits that come to mind.)
Put the Scripture in a place
For me, learning more about why that passage is significant and why the author wrote it helps to anchor it to a place in my memory.
One example I think of is Psalm 51. It's a psalm that David wrote at the height of his brokenness over his own sin—that horrible incident with Bathsheba, Uriah, and all the other mess that happened there. But it contains beautiful cries to the Lord that I find helpful to make a prayer of repentance for myself, like in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
I memorized the whole chapter early in my Scripture memory journey, and remembering the place it came from was helpful to anchoring the raw words of the Psalm to a place that not only resonated in some ways (read above) but also made sense because of the context.
In addition to great Biblical literacy and understanding, there is plenty of research that shows we remember things better when we can make sense of the context or even visualize the concept in a meaningful way.
For example, you probably don't know the exact address of your favorite restaurant, right? I mean, unless you happen to live there or work there or are some type of hyper-observant sociopath. But you know the part of town it's in, the closest intersection, and nearby places. You can probably picture the parking lot in your mind right now.
I find Scripture memory functions in a very similar way. Seeing part of the bigger picture is key to helping yourself lock down those verses.
Bible memory is a challenging but incredibly fruitful discipline.
Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 both speak to the power and importance of Scripture, as well as many more verses throughout all of the Bible that remind us how important keeping the Word in front of us should be.
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