I'm actually very good at memorizing things, in some ways--I can remember the gist of almost anything I read (although I'm not photographic, I'm close) and I can memorize very accurately what I hear in a context (i.e., a song or a funny movie line).
I fail miserably when I'm trying to memorize text word-for-word. MISERABLY.
This is a problem, because in order to meditate on Scripture you have to have it at your tongue's end, which pretty much means memorizing. And memorizing the gist isn't enough for Scripture; you should memorize it exactly.
Enter the glories of the mp3.
Lately I've been memorizing the verses on this album, which you can get at Amazon as an mp3 album download or as a CD. Well worth it.
I'll tell you why I prefer this to other Scripture songs--there are other products out there, but I have some issues with them.
Steve Green, for instance, makes a set of CDs designed to help kids memorize verses. They're very adequate, but Steve's speaking voice drives me up the wall, and the music is very...um, 90s Christmas Program-esque. The problem for me is that if I find the tunes annoying, I just won't be able to listen to the songs enough to memorize the words. What can I say, it's a failing. I don't do well with the branch of CCM that sounds like the background music to an assisted living facility commercial.
It's the same problem with Integrity's set. Sorry, Integrity. Just not my cuppa tea. Maybe it is your cup of tea, Dear Reader, and if so I have handily linked for you.
Seeds of Character, though, has inoffensive tunes (I don't know that I'd call them, like, outstanding or anything, but they are not annoying, and that's really enough for me), and when the singers speak, it's not Breathy And Dramatic In A Broadway Play Sort Of Way, like you often get. And the verses in this album are the ones you really do want to have stuck in your head: basic Gospel texts, and verses that will keep you from murdering close family members when they ask for another !@#$ thing ("If I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet...").
Mostly I'm bringing this up to tell you that you can find a way to memorize Scripture that makes sense to you. For years I felt like memorizing verses with a tune was somehow babyish or second-best, like a real solid Christian would use the 3x5 cards that Bible study books are forever harping on.
Then I sort of woke up one day and realized that what matters is getting the Scripture into my brain so deep it's stuck there, not the method used. (And also that monks who memorized all 150 Psalms back in the day did it by chanting them to a tune.)
A lot of spiritual disciplines are like this. It really doesn't matter whether you pray with the ACTS method, whether you use a prayer journal, whether you use pre-written prayers or pray hymns or pray through the Psalms. It matters you PRAY.
It doesn't matter HOW you memorize and meditate on Scripture, it matters that you DO IT.
One more recommendation, this one a book, The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. It's fairly heavy going, because it's packed absolutely full of good stuff. If you are feeling like there ought to be more to the Christian life than not subscribing to the Penthouse channel and going to church on Sunday, you're right. This book is a really good starting point, and I highly recommend it.
Cheers,
Breanna
I fail miserably when I'm trying to memorize text word-for-word. MISERABLY.
This is a problem, because in order to meditate on Scripture you have to have it at your tongue's end, which pretty much means memorizing. And memorizing the gist isn't enough for Scripture; you should memorize it exactly.
Enter the glories of the mp3.
I'll tell you why I prefer this to other Scripture songs--there are other products out there, but I have some issues with them.
Steve Green, for instance, makes a set of CDs designed to help kids memorize verses. They're very adequate, but Steve's speaking voice drives me up the wall, and the music is very...um, 90s Christmas Program-esque. The problem for me is that if I find the tunes annoying, I just won't be able to listen to the songs enough to memorize the words. What can I say, it's a failing. I don't do well with the branch of CCM that sounds like the background music to an assisted living facility commercial.
It's the same problem with Integrity's set. Sorry, Integrity. Just not my cuppa tea. Maybe it is your cup of tea, Dear Reader, and if so I have handily linked for you.
Seeds of Character, though, has inoffensive tunes (I don't know that I'd call them, like, outstanding or anything, but they are not annoying, and that's really enough for me), and when the singers speak, it's not Breathy And Dramatic In A Broadway Play Sort Of Way, like you often get. And the verses in this album are the ones you really do want to have stuck in your head: basic Gospel texts, and verses that will keep you from murdering close family members when they ask for another !@#$ thing ("If I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet...").
Mostly I'm bringing this up to tell you that you can find a way to memorize Scripture that makes sense to you. For years I felt like memorizing verses with a tune was somehow babyish or second-best, like a real solid Christian would use the 3x5 cards that Bible study books are forever harping on.
Then I sort of woke up one day and realized that what matters is getting the Scripture into my brain so deep it's stuck there, not the method used. (And also that monks who memorized all 150 Psalms back in the day did it by chanting them to a tune.)
A lot of spiritual disciplines are like this. It really doesn't matter whether you pray with the ACTS method, whether you use a prayer journal, whether you use pre-written prayers or pray hymns or pray through the Psalms. It matters you PRAY.
It doesn't matter HOW you memorize and meditate on Scripture, it matters that you DO IT.
One more recommendation, this one a book, The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. It's fairly heavy going, because it's packed absolutely full of good stuff. If you are feeling like there ought to be more to the Christian life than not subscribing to the Penthouse channel and going to church on Sunday, you're right. This book is a really good starting point, and I highly recommend it.
Cheers,
Breanna
