Memorize God’s Word With Your Family
Family devotions are NEVER a bad idea. But when you add an element of memorization to it, you can challenge and encourage each other to learn…in a not-too-competitive way, of course.
Memorizing Bible verses as a family is a wonderful way to make God’s presence in your home real and genuine. Memorizing as a family also:
- Encourages you to not give up
- Holds you accountable for the commitment you’ve made to memorize a verse (or verses)
- Brings an added sense of unity to your family
- Allows you to work as a team and not feel so alone in your quest to put God’s Word to memory
Don’t make it a burden or drudgery, though. Make it fun! Make it enjoyable, and make it easy so no one gets discouraged.
At the dinner table
Say the verse you are working on together at the dinner table a few times while eating. For example, whenever Dad says, “Forks down.” it’s time to say the verse.
Read and Learn More Memorize Bible Scripture and Verses Quickly and Easily
Or…once everyone is fairly familiar with the verse, make it a requirement that they have to say it from memory before they get dessert or leave the table.
Write it on their…
Write the verse on a sticky note or note card and put it in your purse, lunch bag, briefcase, or book bag so you will see it throughout the day.
Write the verse in marker or lipstick on your house’s bathroom mirrors.
For example kitchen cabinets, the dashboard of the car, on the front of the microwave, on the TV remote…
Place a notecard with the verse on everyone’s pillow and let it be the last thing they look at each night before going to bed.
And the award goes to…
Reward yourselves when you memorize three or four verses. You can do this on an individual basis or make it a family affair. When doing it on an individual basis, it is important to remember to strike a balance between rewarding those who have memorized their verses and not making other family members (especially children) feel unaccomplished
Note: If doing individual awards, never compare one child’s accomplishments to another’s.
Some of the individual awards you might offer include:
- A chore-free day
- A later bedtime for a day or two
- Playdate with a friend
- Choosing something to do with just mom or dad
- Choosing the movie for family movie night
- A small gift such as a book, craft kit, trip to the yogurt or ice cream shop, or something else the person will enjoy NOTE: Moms, especially like a few hours of ‘me time’
Family rewards could include:
- A special dinner out
- A trip to the zoo or other fun activity
- Making homemade ice cream together
- Staying up late, eating popcorn, and watching a movie together
- A family evening at the bowling alley
- A backyard game night
For all the right reasons
Memorizing Bible verses with your family can sometimes cause us (and especially children) to learn the verses for the sake of ‘winning’ rather than for putting God’s Word into their hearts and minds. You can also avoid the competition mindset between your children by not having that mindset yourself.
Consistency
Also, it’s helpful to review the words you already know every once in a while. Do it now, or you’ll forget them and all your hard work will be for nothing.
If you are memorising to know God’s Word, share God’s Word with others, and grow closer to God, you should go over the verses over and over to keep them fresh in your mind.
My friend had learned many Bible verses by heart over the years, but one day she chose to learn the whole Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7).
Small steps at a time. Every day, before she learned new lines, she would say the ones she already knew. She made it a point to say all three chapters to herself every day as she walked.
It had a long time. After that, she missed a few days here and there. Do you know what took place? Some of the lines got harder for her to read. A lot of it she could still say word for word, but some parts were off.
You don’t learn a song just to not sing it again, do you? The same thing happens when you try to remember Bible verses.