Psalm 119:15–16 states, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” When I read this verse, I cannot help but feel just slightly guilty. You see, I definitely do not know Scripture as well as I would like. I feel like I have a pretty good excuse, I wasn’t raised with the Bible in my household. But at the end of the day, it’s an excuse. Psalm 119 not only reminds me of my desire to remember God’s Word but that I desire for my children to have the Word stored up in their hearts (see Psalm 119:11).
This is a desire I feel utterly unqualified to fulfill. I consider myself a “pioneer parent,” a parent who did not have the examples of Christian parents during his or her childhood. I simply didn’t learn Scripture as a child, and I’m sure I’m not the only parent who is learning alongside his or her children (or learning it again!). One of the best ways to meditate and fix our eyes on the way of the Lord with our children is to start the daunting task of memorizing Scripture.
Do It Together
I want to emphasize, this is a benefit to both you and your children. In Deuteronomy 6, God tells us to memorize Scripture. We are to do it ourselves and teach our children to do so as well. While we aren’t held to Old Testament laws as a source of our salvation, they are still God’s desires for His people. For me, one of my fears about this is I have lost the skill of memorization.
As adults, we don’t have many reasons to learn recitations anymore. Maybe as a teen you had to memorize parts of the catechism or Scripture as a part of confirmation. Or maybe your Lutheran grade school had it baked into the curriculum. Outside of church, maybe you were a part of a local theater and had to learn lines. Maybe you memorized something to study for a test in school. But now, where in your adult life have you been asked to memorize or recite?
That’s why I want to remind you of the beauty of doing it together. This shows your children directly that you have a stake in this process.
Picking Verses
How do you choose Scripture to memorize? Well, that will depend on the age of your children and your own preferences. Here are my personal ideas for what makes a good memory verse.
- Start simple: Find verses with words they understand. While it is always a good thing for your kids to come to you with words they don’t know yet or well, your children will find it easier if they already have a general understanding of the words they are being asked to memorize.
- Already memorable: The first and only Bible verse I had memorized before beginning my journey as a Christian was John 3:16. I suggest finding verses your children are already familiar with. This includes verses that are often used during worship or are coming up in worship (such as verses used in the liturgy each week!).
- For prayer: My two-year-old has recently started reciting the Lord’s Prayer with us. How wonderful is it to hear her sweet voice say these words! We have always prayed the Lord’s Prayer with her during our bedtime routine. Because she is getting more confident in these words, we may switch to a different nighttime psalm to pray!
Strategies
After choosing verses, how do you go about memorizing them? Let’s walk through a few examples of how we can differentiate recitation.
- Say it often: Just say the words over and over again. Not the most exciting, but it’s effective. Ultimately, this is exactly how we memorize.
- Write it out: For kiddos who know their letters, write out the full verse with them.
- As a bonus, use a whiteboard. Write it out, ask them to read it, erase one word, and ask them to recite the whole verse. Rinse and repeat.
- First letter: Write out the first letter of each word in the verse on an index card. For example: John 3:16 would look like this:
F G S L T W T H G H O S T W B I H S N P B H E L
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- Keep the card handy and use it as a visual resource to help your family remember each word in the verse.
- Music as a resource: I don’t know about you, but I find it easier to memorize music lyrics than straight words. There are many recordings available to help you learn to sing the Bible! I love using the Bible verse songs from VBS! Having actions in the videos also helps.
- Movement as a resource: Ask your kids to join you in creating motions to go alongside the words! By intentionally creating or utilizing movement, your kinetic learners will easily grasp the memory verse.
Just Start
Are you ready to memorize Paul’s entire letter to the Philippians? If you shook your head no, just know that I am shaking my head alongside you and your kids. And that’s okay. But I am waving the green flag and asking you to begin this memorization journey!
Memorizing God’s Word not only is a command, but it also equips you and your children for your walk with Christ in this broken world. It brings comfort to be able to recall how God has specifically given words that speak to moments of uncertainty and fear. His Word reminds us of our baptismal identity and saturates our minds with truth—working to block out the lies of Satan and replace them with God’s promises. And it grows our ability to witness. When people in life ask you or your children “Did God actually say . . . ” (Genesis 3:1), you can remember and answer with the truth of His Word.
All we have to do is start. And soon we will have Scripture written on our family’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
Scripture: ESV®.
Use verses from this month’s Everyday Faith Calendar to create a space to reflect on Scripture in your family’s daily life.
