Jerry Bridges states the case for memorizing Scripture as follows: “God’s Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions. One of the most effective ways of influencing our minds is through memorizing Scripture. David said, ‘I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You’ (Psm. 119:11).”1
When I first came to Christ in 1981, I knew very little about the Bible. And even though I had read the entire Bible once, before I made my commitment to Christ, I couldn’t cite even one verse of Scripture from memory. But thankfully over the years I made it a point to memorize many Scripture verses, which have proven invaluable in my fight against Satan and sin.
But just why is it so important to memorize Bible verses? Well, I like to compare our mind to a giant tape deck, which before we come to Christ is filled with all kinds of sinful thoughts, ungodly attitudes, and a host of evil intentions. In my case, for the first 28 years of my life, my tape desk was full of everything except God. I was an atheist and my knowledge of God and the Bible was just about zero. No wonder I had no joy in life because I didn’t know the real joy giver – Jesus Christ. And no wonder I had such a hard time in finding meaning in life since, at that time in my life, I didn’t understand that all of mankind is born with a spiritual vacuum that only Jesus Christ can fill. My tape deck, before I came to Christ, was void of any capacity to find joy or meaning.
Today, 42 years after I accepted Christ, I have learned that the most effective way to reprogram my tape deck is through not only reading the Bible every day, but in memorizing important Scripture verses. You see as a non-believer, when problems arose, my old tape deck had very little to draw upon to help me find solutions. Now, when problems arise, I often can call up specific Scripture verses from my tape deck memory banks that help me cope with the trials of life.
The following are just three examples to show you what I mean. When I am feeling down, I often call up from memory (Isaiah 61:3) where we are told to put on, “…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” A second example, concerns when I am going through an intense trial. In this instance my mind often recalls what the Apostle Paul shared in (Romans 8:18): “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” And a third example, which helps me to turn the table on the devil, concerns the times I am persecuted for sharing the gospel message. Instead of cowering in defeat I choose to call to mind one of my favorite victory verses: (Matthew 5:11-12): “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” In all three of these examples the ability to call to mind powerful Bible verses, almost instantly, has proven a powerful way to defeat the fiery darts of the evil one.
And because I read the Bible every day my tape deck is always thinking about the Scriptures. My friends if you haven’t made Scripture memorization a part of your daily Bible reading why not start today with one of my favorite verses: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11).