The Lord instructs Joshua to meditate on the Book of the Law day and night, “being careful to do everything written in it, then we will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8) Psalm 119 commands us to treasure (or hide) the word of God in our hearts so that we are protected from sin. The word of God is sharper than a sword, it can divide your spirit, it can judge the thoughts and attitudes of your heart (see Hebrews 4:12).
The word of God is truly powerful. If we memorise it and keep them in the treasure chest of our heart there are many benefits and rewards. Here’s eight of them:
- Meditation is the pathway to understanding.Memorising scripture makes meditation easier, even when we don’t have a Bible handy.
- Reciting Bible verses in our head helps it “stick” inside our brain. This allows us to hear it more and be strengthened by it.
- Memorising scripture shapes the way we view the world. It transform our thinking to be more like God’s.
- If we know God’s word by heart it is more accessible to our conscience when we are tempted by sin. The promises and warnings in God’s word will come into our minds to help us conquer the lies of the devil.
- Memorising scripture guards our hearts and minds making it easier to detect error in someone’s teaching or actions.
- Ephesians refers to the word of God as “the sword of the Spirit”. John Piper has a famous quote: “What do you use to hit the devil in the face?” The devil hates us because we are Christians, he hates the church and will do whatever within his power to stop us from reading the Bible. He doesn’t want us to know God and his word better because he knows that that is what will destroy him. Memorising scripture and knowing how to apply it to our daily lives is our strongest attack on Satan’s attempts to control our minds.
- Memorising scripture provides us with the strongest words for ministering to others in need.
- Having the Bible in our heart enables Jesus to fellowship with us through God’s word day-by-day, hour-by-hour. He counsels us and coaches us through every situation and circumstance in life.
Look up John Piper’s YouTube videos on Memorising Scripture or go to his website http://www.desiringgod.org for more helpful and inspiring words.
May you be filled with knowledge, wisdom and power as you live for the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.
Michael Hunt
I made some little mobile phone applications to help me memorizing scripture. They make it fun, so I can do it on the way to work in the morning. There’s proverbs, 1 John, Collosians…
https://market.android.com/developer?pub=Nopaniers+Software
Thank you very much for this inspiring article! The app Remember Me helps Christians to memorize their favourite Scriptures systematically on their smartphone (with audio, puzzles, flashcards, intelligent review system…). For more information see market.android.com/details?id=org.bible.remember_me. It’s free.
I love meditation! I never imagined it would work before I gave it a shot… I wish everyone would give it a chance. In the beginning I just felt a bit more balanced and was amazed that this kind of spirit stayed with me the whole day. Now it has become part of my life!