I have been memorizing Bible Scriptures my whole life. Well, maybe not from age one to five, but I think I can definitely remember Words from the Word being “hidden in my heart” pretty soon after that.

      Being raised a preacher’s son, I was always hearing Scriptures being preached, taught and sung. As children in Children’s Church, we regularly had “Sword Drills” where we competed to see who could quote Scriptures from memory. My brother Dan always seemed to quote “Jesus wept” before I could get it out!

      As I grew older and matured more in the faith, I learned the extremely valuable skill of memorizing Scripture, not just for competitions but for the value of its application in my life.

      The Bible talks a lot about reasons to memorize the Word. Here are seven of them. Psalm 119:11 tells us to hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him…the memorized Word can help keep us from sinning! Psalm 119:105 says that the Word gives us guidance, it is a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

      The Word is an invaluable tool to help us minister and reach others. Take a look at Romans 10:14-17. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The Word is probably the most mighty weapon we have to defend ourselves, especially against the devil. Hebrews 4:12 describes the word as quick, powerful and sharp!

      The Word is vital in lifting up and practicing our praise and worship of Him. Read Psalm 145 and “sing of His righteousness.” The book of Psalms is filled with hundreds of references of using its words to lift up and praise our King. The Word is a constant source of comfort and peace to us throughout our lives. Read Psalm 23 again, memorize it, quote it when you next experience the need for green pastures, the fear of the valley of the shadow of death or standing in the presence of your enemies.

      Last, and maybe most importantly, the Word greatly helps us draw closer to the Lord. Read the entire chapter of Psalm 119. See how many times the Psalmist declares his thankfulness for “thy word.” Verse 114 declares “thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”

Seven Reasons to Memorize the Word
To not sin
To receive guidance
To minister and reach others
To defend myself, especially against the devil
To use and practice in praise and worship
To comfort and give me peace
To draw nearer to my Lord

      The purpose of this book is to motivate and encourage you to memorize the Word. Our goal, “our mission should you decide to accept it” is to memorize 100 Scriptures.

      I would encourage you to make this a two year task, memorizing one passage of Scripture every week for a year (You get two of the 52 weeks in a year as “slack”). There is no requirement to make this a legalistic demand. Such a commitment will always remain between you and the Lord. But I can testify that the rewards for adopting this spiritual discipline in your life are immeasurable.

      We can acknowledge at the start that such a task is difficult…seemingly impossible. Of course, we know from Matthew 17:20 that “nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Mark 10:27 says, “with men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” And again, in Luke 1:37 reminds us that “with God nothing shall be impossible.”

      You can do this! You can memorize many verses of the Bible. We have already seen that the results and rewards make it worth it. Why would we not want to take on so important a task? Once you start memorizing God’s Word, hard as that may be to remain faithful to, you will see the rewards and continue on.


      There is a secondary purpose of this book: to provide a source of study and devotionals for the owner. Many times I have provided Bible studies and teaching lessons for Sunday School classes, youth camp studies and personal devotionals. It is my hope that these volumes will facilitate those needs as well. Please feel free to use these books in that way. Each lesson provides probing study questions, supporting additional Scriptures, techniques for ways to learn and memorize the Word to hide it deeply in you heart.


      A third purpose for producing these studies is to provide a possible resource for some of the central doctrines of the faith. This might prove a valuable resource for a Sunday School Class or small Bible Study group. As difficult as memorizing Scripture might become, one can also use these resources as a study to drive deeper into understanding some fundamental as well as deeper truths of the Word. Our study of the Bible can so often be surface level at best. I encourage you to STUDY the WORD, devote dedicated time to understanding it, make it so personal that when the Holy Spirit brings it back to your remembrance, it is the spiritual gold that He intends it to be.


      So, I encourage any who want to follow, press on! Take the challenge. Even if you fail, come back and try again. I think you will find that it is better to KNOW the Word than it is to just know about it. You will be amazed at the benefits ahead. As Paul encouraged Timothy, “study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)