By Tom Claycomb III
Memorizing is hard work. The first thing I have to do is convince you that it’s worth a man’s while to memorize Scriptures. Why not be hunting/fishing? Hebrews 11:6 teaches us “he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” You must believe that it is worth a man’s time to seek hardcore after God.
The second thing I have to do is to convince YOU that it’s possible for YOU to memorize. I’ve taught people from 6-85 to memorize. Let’s do a little exercise. What’s your name? Wife’s name? Address, phone #, email, birthday? See! You can memorize!
It’s hard work, and there’s also a spiritual darkness you’re fighting. At first you’ll feel mentally handicapped. It’s like working a muscle. Imagine you’ve never hiked. Your first backpacking trip will be tough.
You may say, “I own a Bible, so why memorize?” To engage in war against the enemy you have to have your “sword of the spirit” (Word of God) with you. That’s how Jesus fought the devil after His 40-day fast. He didn’t have a Bible with Him.
I used to fast on Sundays and after church would memorize. If the Pastor said a cool verse, I’d memorize it. One Sunday I felt prompted to memorize 2 Timothy 2:16: “But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”
That week an employee [I worked with] was doodling. While helping her catch up, she started talking some wild stuff. I told her to get to work. We caught up and she started again. I thought of the verse I’d just memorized. Why memorize it if I wasn’t going to tell her why I couldn’t flirt with her. Long story short, she went to church and got saved. Just because I memorized and applied that verse.
I’ve since learned from my wife, who is a teacher, that there are three learning styles: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual.
One guy I know taught memorizing by visualizing word pictures. To remember the 12 Israeli tribes he said picture a Levi jacket. But this jacket is multi-colored. Levi is one tribe and the colored jacket represented the coat of many colors of Joseph, another tribe. It didn’t have buttons but a zipper which reminds you of the tribe of Zebulun and so his system went. I figured it’d be easier to just memorize than to remember the 5,000,000-word pictures.
Here’s how I memorize. If you’re memorizing a whole chapter, memorize the first verse then start on the second one. Say both and go to the third one and work on down the chapter. You want to say it perfectly or you’ll imprint it wrong in your head.
When I first started, I checked to see if I even knew John 3:16. Pitiful. I’d gone to college 5½ years and yet hadn’t even studied the Bible. Speaker and writer Bill Gothard prompted me to memorize Matthew 5, 6 and 7. In about 1½ hours I had 11 verses. I still remember how clouded my mind was. That was phenomenal for me. In 1½ weeks I mastered the three chapters and could say them straight through without looking. For me that was unheard of. Your mind will get sharper as you memorize.
Memorizing a 25-verse chapter is easier than memorizing 18 scattered verses. Most chapters are a flowing story – example, Psalms 23. To the contrary though, memorizing Proverbs is like memorizing the dictionary, sometimes a different thought in every verse. This makes memorizing Proverbs a bit more difficult.
A buddy shared a great idea. He’ll read as his nightly Bible reading the chapter that he’s memorizing. After a week or two it’s easier to memorize. Sound advice. If God’s talking to you through a verse or verses, memorize them and figure how to incorporate them into your life.
I started reviewing on Sundays. But after a while I’d be spending my whole time reviewing and never have time to move onto new material. I worried I’d forget what I worked so hard to memorize, but John 14:26 teaches us that, “The comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, will call all things to your remembrance whatsoever that I have commanded you.”
I count a verse memorized if I wake up the next morning and say it correctly. I’m then ready to move on to the next verse/chapter.
Gothard teaches about meditating on God’s Word. Here’s what meditating means to me. Let’s say a verse stands out to you. That’s the Holy Spirit prompting you to memorize/meditate on it and figure out how to apply it in your life.
That’s the quest of a hardcore memorizer – to figure out how to apply something written by shepherds 2,000-8,000 years ago into your world. If you don’t figure out how to apply it in your world, then why even memorize?
After memorizing a verse, think on it. Reference other verses that relate. Pray and figure how to apply them in your life. When I memorize a chapter, I may only understand three verses. Don’t panic. In His timing He’ll give you understanding of how to apply it.
I was shocked to find out that Scripture works in the real world. I’ve learned: “If it doesn’t work in the real world, then it’s not real!” I worked for 45 years in the beef packing world, which is a rough business, and it worked there.
That’s the quest of a hardcore memorizer. To figure out how to put something written 2,000-8,000 years ago into your world. You must know that it is worth a man’s while to seek hardcore after God.
If I don’t accomplish anything else, from now on when you pick up your Bible, I want you to do so in reverence. You’ve got a weapon of war in your hands.
For more information about anything in this column, contact Tom at tomclaycomb3rd@gmail.com.
