A Habit That Can Change Your Life

I like simplicity. I think that’s why I was so struck when I came across this question in a book I was reading recently. “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”¹ This book wasn’t written from a particularly Christian viewpoint, but I began to wonder if I could apply this question to my own spiritual growth and how I lead my family.

Is there one spiritual discipline or activity that would make all the others easier? I think so. To clarify, just because you do it does not mean that you will automatically grow. On the other hand, it will be hard not to grow if you have a relationship with God through the finished work of Jesus and do this regularly. So what is it?

Memorize Scripture. Then, lead your family in memorizing it.

Please don’t stop reading here. You may be tempted - perhaps you’ve tried memorizing Scripture or having your kids do it and over time gave up on the habit. Maybe you didn’t see instant change. I would encourage you to consider it again.

Listen to these words from Psalm 1:1–3:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but 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. In all that he does, he prospers.

Look at the result of meditation — the man who does it grows. He is like a tree that doesn’t wither, regardless of circumstances, because the water supply is always there. If you want to meditate on God’s Word like David describes here, if you want to grow like a fruitful tree with a consistent water supply, you need to make a habit of memorizing Scripture. If you want your wife and your kids to grow like that, you need to lead them to memorize Scripture too!

Think about how memorizing Scripture fuels the other spiritual disciplines. When we pray, we can know better how to pray according to his will. When we read our Bibles, we can better understand the whole of Scripture as the passages that we have memorized inform our understanding of that day’s passage. When we seek to kill sin in our lives, we have the sword of the Spirit ready to strengthen us against temptation, just as Jesus resisted (Matthew 4).

Hopefully you see the value of memorizing Scripture. But how do you do it? Let me suggest two ways that have been helpful in our family rhythms:

1. Memorize Scripture for growth.

First, let’s focus on the positive side. Choose passages that stand out to you from your practice of exposure to Scripture. This could be a verse or several verses that you read recently in regular Bible reading. Maybe verses from a sermon or instructional time in the life of your church were really helpful for you. Start to accumulate a list of verses that encourage you and work at memorizing them.

One practical bit of advice - look at the verses before and after the verse(s) you select and see if there are major connecting thoughts. You may want to expand the section you are memorizing. For example, perhaps you decide to memorize Ephesians 2:10. Maybe backing up to 2:8-9 would be a good reminder that those good works you ought to strive for are not for salvation, but rather what God saved you to do. Of course, you could just memorize 2:1-10 or even the book of Ephesians as a whole. The main thing is to identify connecting thoughts or motivations and then decide what section will help you apply what the passage means in its context.

Make a concrete plan for when to work on these verses. I’d recommend starting with listening to and/or reading the passage 10x each day. I like to do it the first time I’m driving somewhere each day. For habit building, it’s best to have a trigger (e.g. when you get in the car, morning break, etc.). For our kids, they ask every afternoon if they can have a snack, so we have started saying, “Yes, after you review your memory verse(s) 10x.” Once you can quote it without effort, move on to another passage. Review old passages each week for a couple of months, then set a regular review schedule to keep them fresh after that. You’ll learn what works best for you, but I’ve found 3-5 verses to be a manageable chunk to work on at a time. Don’t stress about how long it takes you to memorize, just commit to faithful review, then move on once you have it! Remember, the end goal is meditation.

2. Memorize Scripture for correction.

Another time our family is working on Scripture memory is when our kids are struggling with sin. We accompany a consequence with spending time memorizing verses that help correct the heart behind their sin. To prevent discouragement, we often use the same principle (read 10x out loud) instead of requiring memory that day. The more they struggle with that same issue, the sooner they’ll have the verse memorized. I was convicted a few months ago when I realized I was telling my kids they needed to change, but not giving them any weapons to fight sin. It is a great joy when we go to talk about a particular issue to start to hear them quote Scripture without even having to review it.

I’m thankful for a Christian friend who encouraged me to start memorizing Scripture again about 9 months ago. Consistency is key - 10 minutes or less each day can make a huge difference over time! God has used the passages I’ve been working on in many ways in my heart over those months. I hope that if you haven’t developed this habit yet, you will commit to developing a habit of memorizing Scripture for the rest of your life. Train your family to do it as well! Of all the spiritual disciplines that you can establish, I believe this is one that can equip you and your family to grow in all the others.