You absolutely can memorize Scripture. You just need a Bible memorization plan.
That’s what you’ll learn to establish on this page.
No matter how many times you may have tried and given up before, this approach to memorizing scripture will work.
How do I know?
I’ve coached verbatim memorization for fifteen years.
My students have publicly recited Scripture.
And I’ve interviewed people who perform entire passages of the Bible.
The only difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is one word:
They had a plan.
Soon, you will too. And thanks to the example plans I’ll share below, this tutorial will make everything incredibly easy for you.
Ready?
Let’s dive in!
The Step-by-Step Process to Create Your Personalized Bible Memorization Plan
“Just get started.”
That’s often the advice we hear.
But when it comes to developing a Scripture memorization plan that works, you can’t go about it randomly.
That’s why this first step is so crucial.
One: Choose Your Focus
Different people are drawn to various aspects of the Bible.
Even if your goal is to memorize the entirety of the Bible, it’s critical that you learn how to memorize based on a strong foundation of interest.
Your focus might lead you to select a set of specific verses you’ve always wanted to commit to memory.
Or you might choose to focus on the Psalms, as did my successful student Matt Barclay.
Perhaps you prefer to focus on the Sermons of Jesus in the Gospels.
Or you want to start with one of the key epistles, like Romans or Ephesians.
Don’t worry if you decide to change your mind later. That’s okay.
The key is to make note of the verses, passages or Books of the Bible that stand out to you.
Select from this list.
Then, later when you expand the Scripture you’ve memorized, you can build upon this deeply personal foundation.
Two: Set Clear Short-Term Goals
Whether you work on a verse a day, or even a single word a day, the key is base your journey on a schedule to which you can stick.
Although some might scoff at the idea of memorizing just one word a day from Scripture, I’ve done this myself in order to keep consistent.
Over time, it adds up. And by keeping consistent, I’ve memorized and even delivered memorized Scripture from a related tradition in a TEDx Talk.
Although I normally work on entire verses on a daily basis, that’s my personal short-term goal:
Between one word and an entire sentence per sessions.
My student Mike McKinley followed a similar pattern and quickly memorized over sixty Psalms in this consistently measured manner.
Three: Write Out Your Schedule
Once you’ve chosen the Scripture you’re going to focus on, make a pact in writing.
Then work out when you’re going to show up to both:
- Encode the verses into memory
- Review the verses
I also encourage you to schedule when you’re going to use the verses you’ve memorized.
Although no one can see the future, just jot out a number of situations where you’ll have opportunities to recite Scripture.
That way, when those opportunities arise, you’ll be more likely to take the chance to practice. This simple action is a form of priming that helps ready you for taking action.
Four: Review Daily
Start each day by reviewing the previous day’s memorization.
You won’t need to do this forever with each verse. But some repetition is necessary.
To reduce the needed amount of repetition, use the principles I discussed in this tutorial on spaced repetition.
You can also follow the basic practice of Tom Meyer, who is often called the Bible Memory Man.
His recommendation is to make sure that you review by:
- Reading the text aloud to help with learning and retention through hearing
- Writing the verses out by hand
- Paying attention to rhythm and structure as you recite
These are good tips.
However, I suggest that when writing out verses, you avoid copying the text.
Memorize first, then bring the verses to mind before writing them.
This process follows the findings of what scientists call active recall. It will help your memories form faster.
Five: Keep a Progress Journal
Each time you review, note it down in a journal.
Why?
As renowned memory champion Johannes Mallow shared with us in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, keeping a Memory Journal is the secret of his success.
It enabled him to see areas where he was strong and identify areas where he needed to improve.
Journaling also helps eliminate that helpless feeling unstructured people often suffer. “Where has all the time gone?”
When you keep a journal of your efforts, you’ll never have that feeling. Instead, you’ll have a sense of accomplishment and an inspiring record of your consistent effort.
One progress journal I love is call The Freedom Journal. It has helped me complete quite a few projects. I highly recommend using it at least once.
Why not for memorizing the Bible?
Six: Use Memorization Techniques
Meyer claims he uses no memory techniques at all.
Although this it not possible, his strategy is basically the same as rote learning. Many people will have neither time nor tolerance for such an approach.
As an alternative, I suggest using the Memory Palace technique (as indicated on the infographic above).
If you’d like to see a discussion with examples of how I memorized some of the Book of John in Latin, watch this video tutorial.
In addition to the Memory Palace technique, I suggest that you learn how to use:
Although these techniques require a bit of additional learning, they will not only make your progress with committing Scripture to memory faster.
It will also make it much more fun. Enjoying yourself makes keeping committed and consistent so much more likely.
You’ll be more encouraged and more likely to stick to your plan.
Seven: Accountability
Although memorization itself happens alone, it’s great when you can share the journey with either a partner or a group.
Chances are you already have a friend who would love to help keep you accountable.
If not, look around and set a time to meet at least 2-3 times per month to share your progress.
Or, seek out a group.
If your local church doesn’t already have one, ask your pastor to create one. You can also create one yourself.
The key is to make sure that you don’t isolate yourself.
Not even the actor Ashley Strand did that when he memorized the Book of Mark.
And his incredible accomplishment raises another tip you won’t want to miss.
Eight: Analyze and Interpret
As Strand told me in an interview about how he memorized the entire Book of Mark, thinking deeply about the Scripture helped him tremendously.
Since you’ll be keeping a Memory Journal, you can use reflective thinking strategies as you chart your progress.
Ask yourself and answer in writing what the passages you’re memorizing mean to you personally.
Also ask what they mean for others.
Think about the Scripture in its historical context as well.
And for best results, learn about the original languages. Even just a smattering of Hebrew, Greek or one of the other original languages will add great depth to your understanding.
As a result, you’ll remember more Scripture through contextual learning.
Example Plan #1: Verses for Overcoming Anxiety
Let’s say that you have decided to focus on memorizing verses in order to deal with a personal issue.
Since anxiety is known to induce memory loss, for many people, this kind of focus will be very effective in both the short and long-term.
Here’s what your plan might look like:
Step One: Find Bible Verses That Address Anxiety
These days, you can search easily online for a list of verses. Here are a bunch to get you started:
- Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
- Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
- 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
- Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
- Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
- John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
- Psalm 34:4 – “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
- Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”
- Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
- Psalm 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
- 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
- Psalm 94:19 – “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
- Luke 12:25-26 – “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
- Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
- Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- Hebrews 13:6 – “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'”
- Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
- Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Psalm 27:1 – “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
- Isaiah 26:3 – “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Step Two: Narrow the List Down
Next, pick the most meaningful verse to you right now.
Although it can be tempting to go all in on a large number of these verses, remember that you’re following a plan.
You want several verses gathered, but you’ll still work with them one by one.
Once you’ve selected just one verse, write it down in your Memory Journal.
Step Three: Develop a Memory Palace
For best results, I strongly advise that you use the Memory Palace technique.
Draw a simple representation of your home and use the method of loci to identify a number of stations where you will encode each word of the verse.
Here’s an example from one of my Scripture Memory Palaces:
Step Four: Add the Verse to the Memory Palace
Using memory techniques is simple.
You simply pair images together with the individual words you want to memorize.
For example, one thing that used to cause me a lot of anxiety was blurting out ideas during conversations.
That’s where Proverbs 18:13 came in so handy for me.
To memorize it, I used a Memory Palace and a number system for the verse numbers.
As you can see in the illustration above, I combined a number of mnemonic images to help me recall the sound of each word in the verse.
For a full explanation of how this works, please see my tutorial, How to Memorize Scripture.
Step Four: Review the Memorized Verses
Take time each morning to recall what you’ve memorized the day before.
As a best practice, always:
- Speak the verses aloud
- Write them out by hand
- Check for accuracy by reading them from the source
When you follow this specific pattern, you’ll help your brain enter the verse into long-term memory as quickly as possible.
However, if you read the verse first, you’ll essentially be deskilling your memory. You need to challenge it in order for it to improve and to help yourself memorize the verses you’ve chosen to focus on.
Step Five: Share with Your Partner or Group
After a week or two, make sure to meet with others who share your goals.
Share openly everything about the journey.
Remember:
There are no mistakes.
Even if you miscall words, or drop entire clauses, these are really just opportunities to learn about memorization as a practice.
Write down everything in your Memory Journal and ideas for improving will emerge.
Example Plan #2: Memorizing Entire Books of the Bible
When it comes to memorizing an entire book of the Bible, it is possible. And one aspect that makes it easy is that don’t have to spend time selecting the verses.
You’ll simply go through it one verse at a time until you are done. In other words, using your Memory Palaces for the Bible, you’ll proceed in an order like this:
- Week one: John 1:1-4
- Week two: John 1:5019
- Week three: John 2:1-6, etc.
In this case, however, you’ll need many more Memory Palaces.
You’ll also want to reserve more time for the recitation practice, both verbal and in written form.
As you review, you’ll need to work out what specific strategy works for you. Due to the amount of verbatim text, you may need to repeat many of the verses more often than when working with theme-focused selections.
This can tempt you to start thinking like some of my students, who have asked me about memorizing a book out of order.
I have done this, but ultimately I found it creates more confusion than simply memorizing from the beginning of a book to then end.
So I suggest you simply follow the book in order. Then repeat the review pattern you’ve noticed works best for you.
Overall, the most challenging part of complete book memorization is that you will need to speak it aloud and write it out by hand.
This requirement is not a deal-breaker. You just have to break the passages down to smaller units.
And that’s where the Memory Palace technique is so powerful.
If you’d like help developing multiple Memory Palaces that will help you retain Scripture en masse as fast as possible, consider completing this free course:
It gives you 4 video tutorials and 3 worksheets that walk you through everything you need to know.
These are the same lessons my most successful students have completed in order to achieve their Bible memory goals.
And the lessons are based on the same ancient memory techniques that our ancestors used to hold Scripture in mind across the course of their lives.
So what do you say?
Are you ready to start following your plan and enjoying the spiritual richness available only to those who have Scripture deeply embedded in their minds?
