One of the most helpful aspects of my regular meeting with others for the purpose of deepening my and their discipleship is memorizing Scripture together. I’m not necessarily “good” at memorizing. I’m definitely not as sharp with it as I was 20 years ago. It requires an immense amount of concentration and repetition for me, but those two elements (concentration and repetition) prove so fruitful in not only my meditation on the word but my conversation over the application of the word with others.
Here are a few thoughts on how you could approach Scripture memory in a regular meeting with others for discipleship:
- Choose to memorize a large portion of Scripture, rather than smaller, random, unconnected verses. For example, the last portion of Scripture I memorized with a small group of people was the book of Colossians. Before that was the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). I learned the content of these sections very well. I saw how different portions of the book or section fit with previous or later sections. It was easier to memorize the verses as I thought of them in relation to what preceded and followed them. Our conversations about the larger section was more focused and full as we, together, thought through what the whole was saying. There is a flow and a purpose to what is being memorized that not only made it easier to remember, but easier to talk about. I found myself thinking through the content of these sections of Scripture more fully during the week and at random times through my day.
- Make sure that you not only quote it out loud to each other, but discuss some of its impact on you personally as you seek to apply it.
- Commit yourselves to review the section every week. Challenge each other with how much you will seek to memorize each week.
- Challenge each other to be word perfect and specific in your memory work. Being specific strengthens your ability to memorize carefully and fully.
- Find an approach to memorizing that fits you. I found it helpful using (and modifying a bit) THIS approach. I typically tried to work on one new verse each day for about 5 days. Sometimes, if two verses went together well, I would memorize them together on one day, meaning, I would typically be adding 5 to 6 new verses each week.
- Tie the portion you are memorizing to what you are praying for other people or yourself that week. Use what you are memorizing in how you pray together with those you are meeting with each week.
- Don’t allow yourself to become proud of having merely memorized a large portion of Scripture. Challenge each other to enjoy meditating, contemplating, and acting on what you are memorizing. Journal on what you have been memorizing. Humble your heart with the content of what you are memorizing. Confess to each other sins that are revealed from what you are memorizing. Pray together about specific areas of life highlighted by what you are memorizing.
These are just a few thoughts on the value of and the details related to memorizing Scripture with others.
How has memorizing with others assisted you? What were the major challenges to doing it? What has your approach looked like?
