If you want to live deeply rooted in God’s truth, memorizing scripture is a great habit to cultivate. Scripture reminds you of who God is, what he has promised, and who you are because of Jesus.
Not sure how to make a scripture memorization habit stick. Here are 5 strategies that can help.
STRATEGY 1: WRITE THE SCRIPTURE IN A VISIBLE PLACE
Once you’ve choose a verse or section of scripture that speaks to your needs or sets your eyes on God, you need to post it somewhere visible. It’s hard to memorize what you don’t see regularly!
This could be in your car, on the refrigerator, or as a screen saver. If you have an ABIDE & FOCUS Planner, you can write the scripture in your God First (formerly God’s Truth) box. There’s one on each weekly spread so you see the Scripture every time you look at your planner.
STEP 2: SET A SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION GOAL
It’s easier to achieve something once you have a clear goal. Your goal could be outcome based. For example you could decide you want to be able to recite a group of verses by Friday evening. Your goal could also be process based. For example, you could make a goal to practice your verse every week day.
If you’ve struggled with scripture memorization in the past, a process goal may be best. That way you’re focused on making time for the action that allows you to memorize scripture.
Whatever you choose, make sure the goal is also written in a place where you’ll be reminded of it. This might be in a planner or on a to-do list that you keep.
STEP 3: HABIT TRACK YOUR SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION
Habit expert James Clear says tracking habits is effective because it provides a visual way to see your progress. It may take days or weeks to achieve a goal. So habit tracking gives you a hit of satisfaction that can motivate you.
So, if you want to take your scripture memorization goal further, track how frequently you practice your verses. It could be once a day, or multiple times a day. Choose what makes sense for your life, and post it in a visual place.
One last tip! Don’t let one missed day stop you. Remember, progress matters for than perfection. One reason the ABIDE & FOCUS habit tracking boxes are on our weekly spreads (instead of a month-at-a-glace page) is we want you to have a visually clean slate each week. That way you feel like you get a fresh start, even if the prior week did not go as you planned.
STRATEGY 4: SCHEDULE A SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION TIME
If you regularly reach the end of the day without reviewing your memory verses, schedule a specific time to meditate on it. It could be an actual time of day, such as 10:00 a.m. It could also be during a time block. For example, if you reserve a time each week to go through your mail and paper piles, put your Bible in that pile. That way, your scripture memorization is a part of that time of day.
And of course, everything works better if it’s written in a visible place. So include it on a to-do list, in your planner, or on a post-it reminder.
STRATEGY 5: STACK STRATEGIES
Any time I’m creating a new habit, I always find it takes time and practice to make it automatic.
So, I often use all these strategies in the beginning to get jump started. Once the scripture memorization habit is more ingrained, I can often take it off my calendar and simply track it as a daily habit.
Connecting with God’s work is one of the most important habits you can have. But like any habit, it just takes a good strategy to make it a natural daily rhythm.
If you want to learn more about growing your spiritual habit, get a copy of our Spiritual Habits Starter Guide below.
