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Four Benefits to Memorizing Scripture

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Last night I had the privilege of briefly sharing at our Awana end-of-year ceremony which honors our students for their hard work in memorizing their verses and completing their books. And I shared with the students and parents four benefits of memorizing Scripture:

  1. Knowing God’s Word gives us encouragemennt and hope
    Romans 15:4 says, “And Scriptures give us hope and encouragement…” When we memorize Scripture we have quick access to the great hope and encouragement found in God’s Word. The Bible is filled with verses that remind us of the promises of God like Jesus’ words in Matthew 28 in which he tells his disciples that he will never “leave us or forsake us.” That is encouragement!
  2. Knowing God’s Word helps us walk in obedience to God
    Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” When we meditate on God’s Word it reminds us of how he wants us to live. And so when we find ourselves being tempted to do something that would not please God, we can bring those verses to our mind and let them encourage and convict us as we seek to obey God.
  3. Knowing God’s Word leads to joy and blessing
    Psalm 1 tells us about the man who loves God’s Word and it says “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” When we know God’s Word, delight in it and walk in obedience to it we get to experience the joy of growing spiritually. We will experience spiritual fruit like God’s love, joy and peace. When we delight in God’s Word we will not wither spiritually but be healthy like a growing tree.
  4. Knowing God’s Word helps us tell us about Jesus
    1 Peter 3:15 says if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. Memorizing Scripture helps us to be able to clearly communicate the Gospel message. We should know the key verses of God’s plan of salvation so we can explain it when God gives us an opportunity to tell about our hope as Christians.

Memorizing is not just a mental excercise but it is knowing God’s very Word so that we may live by it.