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Last weekend, I traveled to Wiesbaden to attend a special gala event for a ministry that promotes Scripture Recitation: the process of selecting, memorizing, understanding, and then publicly reciting passages of Scripture. The night was filled with worship music, testimonies of how Scripture recitation has impacted the lives of those involved, and many recitations from different books of the Bible. My sweet husband and I recited Philippians 2:5-11 together. I recited it in English, and Markus recited it in German, one verse at a time. We left incredibly encouraged from listening to so many people speak the Word of God with confidence and in a way that helped clarify the meaning of the text. This week, I want to talk about Scripture memory and even recitation. Why is this discipline so beneficial to the Christian life? What role can Scripture memory play in our discipleship and sanctification?
Perhaps you grew up in Awanas or your church had some sort of program that supported children memorizing Bible verses. Have you noticed how Scripture memory seems to be a discipline we promote heavily for children but not as much for adults? Does the need to know the Word decrease as we age? Surely not! Quite the opposite, even.
And why is it that we tend to be taught to memorize single, stand alone verses? While this is good, is it better to memorize Scripture in chunks? I do not recommend that people read the Bible by picking out specific verses and reading them on their own. The Bible is not written as a long series of stand alone sentences but rather as books and letters that have context, flow of thought, and themes that run throughout. So if we don't read the Bible as stand alone verses, then we shouldn't only memorize the Bible in stand alone verses. Context matters. This doesn't mean that you can only memorize Scripture if you memorize whole books at a time. But I have been deeply encouraged by memorizing passages together and not just single verses. As you learn Scripture in context, you understand it better. This understanding only increases when you speak the Scripture aloud.
Scripture memory is a great way to know the word of God to better apply it to your life. However, when you take that extra step to speak the word of God out loud, you are forced to make choices that clarify the meaning of the text. How do you say it? With what tone? What words do you emphasize? Taking that extra step of speaking God's Word out loud, whether it be during a worship service, during a small group time, or just at the dinner table with your family, helps you to consider the intended meaning of the text in a new way.
For instance, which word you emphasize in a sentence can really alter the meaning.
"Can you hand me the book?" – This is a question of ability.
"Can you hand me the book?" – Here the same words convey a question of specificity. It clarifies what the person is asking for: the book.
In ways like this, speaking the Bible aloud helps me to consider more deeply what the author intended to communicate, thus helping me better understand the passage.
Joshua 1:8 encourages us, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Don't let the Scripture you memorize only stay within your heart and mind; speak it out loud so you can better understand it!
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