The new year is always a good time to begin new habits. In How to Memorize Scripture for Life, Andrew M. Davis recommends the always timely habit of committing God’s word to memory. His book is a quick read, but his advice, if taken, will bear fruit over time.

Various Bible verses seem to command Bible memorization. For example, James 1:25 says, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.”

Remembering is the opposite of forgetting. It means both recalling information and acting on it. And those who remember Scripture benefit from doing so.

Davis identifies two benefits in particular: “the internal journey of growth in holiness and the external journey of evangelism and missions.”

The Bible is indispensable for human existence. As Jesus put it, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As we feast on God’s Word, it contributes to our growth in holiness.

Moreover, it helps us evangelize the lost. The more Scripture we know, the better able we are “to bless lost people with an accurate and vivid presentation of the gospel of salvation,” Davis writes.

“Saying a verse one hundred times in one day is not as helpful as saying it every day for one hundred days." —Andrew M. Davis

So, how do we go about the task of Bible memorization? Navigators and Fighter Verses help users learn individual verses on key topics. Unfortunately, such systems can habituate users to reading those verses out of context.

Davis thus advocates the memorization of entire books of the Bible. He recommends starting with a smaller book, such as Ephesians. Once you’ve selected a book, divide its number of verses by how many verses you can memorize per day, then set a finish date. Davis recommends taking one day off per week and adding 10% to your deadline so you don’t get burned out.

(The book has two appendixes. One lists how many verses are in each book of the Bible. The other lays out a six-month program for memorizing Ephesians one verse at a time.)

The key to memorization is repetition. “Saying a verse one hundred times in one day is not as helpful as saying it every day for one hundred days,” Davis writes. Moreover, that repletion should be cumulative.

Davis illustrates this principle using Ephesians 1:1–4.

• Day 1: Memorize 1:1 by saying it aloud 10 times.
• Day 2: Recite 1:1 10 times, then memorize 1:2 by saying it aloud 10 times.
• Day 3: Recite 1:2 10 times, then recite 1:1–2, then memorize 1:3 by saying it out loud 10 times.
• Day 4: Recite 1:3 10 times, then recite 1:1–3, then memorize 1:4 by saying it aloud ten times.

Notice the pattern that starts on Day 3: recite yesterday’s verse, then all previous verses altogether, then today’s verse.

Obviously, you can choose a book to memorize other than Ephesians. (Assemblies of God readers might want to start with Romans or James, which are the books for the 2023–24 season of Teen Bible Quiz. TBQ uses the New Living Translation of the Bible.)

I suppose you could also choose to begin by memorizing an extended passage of Scripture such as the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–21) or the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). The important thing is to memorize Scripture at length.

As you begin a new habit of Bible memorization this year, may Jesus’ promise come true for you: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7, emphasis added).

Book Reviewed

Andrew M. Davis, How to Memorize Scripture for Life: From One Verse to Entire Books (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023).