Psalm 119:105

If there was something you knew you might need in the middle of the night, where would you keep it? Imagine putting your glass of water, phone, alarm clock, ear plugs, and bedside lamp on a nightstand — but just out of reach of your bed.

Whether you’re wanting to deepen discipleship, improve your grasp of the Gospel, prepare for ministry, or resist a particular temptation, memorizing Scripture can be a wonderful habit. Just when we need to reach for illumination, a reminder of truth, or encouragement, maybe in a season of confusion or darkness, we want and need God’s word to be at hand.

One great method is over-memorization. This is a time-tested memorization method, and it just means working at it over time until the words are muscle memory: you no longer have to think for even a second about what comes next. This can be done slowly, a little each day, or quickly, in intense bursts. It depends on your preference, your ability, and what you have time for. Experiment. You can practice during walks, or in traffic. You can spend a whole month immersed in a section of a Gospel or a set of Psalms. You can perform the verses aloud, with hand gestures, or learn to say them as fast as possible without stumbling (which is one method actors use to memorize their lines). Use Dwell Mode to repeat a passage. Don’t memorize until you “have” it. Once you have it, keep going. Memorize until it has you. 

If you need inspiration for memorizing, there’s no better place than Psalm 119. This Psalm walks us through the powerful prayer life of a person who knows the Scriptures by heart. How? By hard work? Probably, at times. But the underlying reason is obvious: the writer is besotted with God. They are all-in, 100% committed to the truth and wisdom of God’s word and work. They depend on hearing from God, and in so doing, they have sought with their whole heart and found a light for their path. 

We may never memorize as much Scripture as the psalmists must have done, but we can be like them in their zeal. Every Christian can strive to appreciate and seek God in Scripture, as they’re able. This is the kind of person prepared to find the eternal Word, Jesus Christ, in the pages of the written word. This is the person prepared for Scripture to expand their world and their heart, not narrow them.

God’s Word is the lamp to the feet of all who wish to know Him. And Psalm 119 and experience teach us that the wise will keep it handy, especially for the night.