How to Memorize Verses

Read and repeat for a short time every day. That’s the simple approach pastor Andrew Davis recommends in his Scripture memory program. He would know. He has successfully used this method to memorize not only verses, or even chapters, but whole books of the Bible. 

“Saying a verse 100 times in one day is not as helpful as saying it every day for one hundred days,” says Davis. “The absolute key to successful Scripture memorization is repetition over a long time period.”

Jon Bloom says, “If you repeat a verse by memory once a day for 100 days, it will be in your permanent long-term memory.” Verses can be memorized easily and retained with an investment of only about 10-to-15 minutes each week. If you invest a few more minutes, you can retain hundreds of previously memorized verses. A sample schedule inspired by Andrew Davis's approach looks like this:

Sunday

Read the week’s passage to be memorized with surrounding verses so you can see it in its context. Ask the Lord to help you commit the passage to memory, apply it to your life, and use it to bless others.

Monday

Read the passage, with the reference, 10 times aloud. Then cover the passage and say it aloud with the reference 10 more times, looking if you need to. Say each memorized passage from previous weeks one time aloud with references.

“Each time you say it, emphasize a different word,” suggests John Piper, using Romans 8:1 as an example:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Tuesday

Cover the passage of the week and try to say the verse aloud with its reference 10 times, looking if necessary. Say each memorized passage from previous weeks one time aloud with references.

Wednesday-Saturday

Recite this week’s passage and each memorized passage from previous weeks one time aloud with references.

Pray, Repeat, Review

Ask the Lord to help you retain what you memorize and use it to minister to others and feed your own soul. Repeat memorized passages once daily for at least 50 days. They’re more likely to move into long-term memory when you do. After that, it’s helpful to review them once every week or two.