Memorizing Scripture

November 4th, 2025
by John Thweatt

One of the best things and at the same time the hardest thing I do in my daily spiritual discipline is to memorize Scripture. The older I get the harder I find it to be, but years ago I read a little book by Andrew Davis, An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture. I want to share his approach with you but first let me suggest a couple of reasons it should be a daily practice.

First, it enables us to fight sin. The Psalmist said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?

Second, it enables me to meditate. When I’m memorizing Scripture, I find I think about it throughout the day, I go to bed quoting it, I wake up quoting it, and as it gets into my memory I am able to meditate on it…to chew on it and pray it.

Davis’s system really does work. During Covid I used it and memorized Ephesians. Unfortunately, I did not stick to his long-term advice and lost most of it, but I am determined to keep plugging.

On day one open your Bible and go to the passage you want to memorize. Read it aloud 10 times and then close your Bible and quote it 10 times. You are done for the day. I do find that I tend to go back to it throughout the day, but the work of memorization is done for that particular day.

On day two recite yesterday’s verse. Do it ten times and if you need to go back and read it to refresh your memory. Then read verse 2 ten times and recite it ten times. I then go back and quote verses one and two together.

You keep doing the same thing day after day. Reciting the previous verses first and then working on the new verse. There are times when I get to “memory overload,” and I have to just work on the previous days, but when I get it down I can add the next verse.

What you find it that as you memorize a chapter or a book you will spend more time remembering the previous verses than you spend on the new one. Davis made a very clear suggestion that I ignored, “Recite the entire book from memory for one hundred consecutive days.” When I memorized Ephesians I did for a few weeks, but soon moved on to a new passage.

Recently, I’ve been working on Psalm 25 and 96. When got them both down I made a commitment to quote them every day through the month of January. Hopefully, but then it will be in my long-term memory. But after I read my chapters for the day, I go back to Psalm 25 and 96 and quote them, and then do the process that I’ve just described for Psalm 24.

I have also found memverse.com is helpful to get it down word for word. Hide God’s Word in your heart, meditate on it, and learn to pray it. You can get the book under its new title here, https://www.amazon.com/How-Memorize-Scripture-Life-Entire-ebook/dp/B0C4FXL2GK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NIOYZTU71LQR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.i_2-ksTg1UztQAUVXYGXLt3p_fPu-C6pQ4s3mygZVSIl2_FwrSagvMT5WMKoaBSXdeiEJ1iEmGnGLnuClnw-nVgaoIpZHBLPqVwnJzIGWP8.Cpv5H8pGSPx_95vJvyDHMoMAKEd7p95-fVkKK9UovYw&dib_tag=se&keywords=an+approach+to+extended+memorization+of+scripture&qid=1762202796&s=digital-text&sprefix=,digital-text,89&sr=1-1.