Group wall: Bible Memorization Tips for Beginners§↻

Thank you for sharing, onfire!

I’ve spent the last few years memorizing the Bible, and in the process of doing so, I’ve come up with a multi-tool approach for helping verses stick in my brain. Here are the tools I currently use:

1. I find it hard to keep the verse locations in the Bible anchored in my mind when I am learning individual verses on this website for two reasons. First, some books have multiple verses which are great for memorizing (I’m looking at you Romans and Ephesians), but they all seem to run together when I try to keep them straight in my brain. Second, you see the passage right before you test on a verse, so it is too easy for me to know the passage location without actually knowing it because I have just seen it 10 seconds before. To overcome this, I use the Quizlet Learn and Test features which allows me to test myself on the locations in a multiple-choice format without seeing them ahead of time.
2. For keeping long passages retained over time, I find using the Anki program with the “Bible Memorizer” addon (https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2012700632). This addon will take a long passage and break it down into a grid format, with each square containing the first letter of each word of a verse all in a sequence with punctuation included (see link for example). When I go to review the passage, I just look at the grid and replace the letters with words as I speak the passage out verbally or subvocally.
3. For learning individual verses, I use this website exclusively. I love how it slowly removes words, tricking you into saying the verse multiple times without realizing it. I also like how it moves from word blocks to passage blocks around 20%. Indeed, this website is spectacular for testing your memorization for at least the first 60%-70% of mastering a verse.
I’d love to see what methods other people use to enhance their memorization retention in addition to this website!

👍

it's okay :)

Carla_BrYANT, I AM SO SORRY THAT I MADE YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE! I did not mean to do that! 😣

I don't feel comfortable answering that question, DogLover. Thanks for your curiosity, though, I'm happy to talk to you anytime!

DogLover. We rejoice that you are here and interested in memorizing scripture and would like to encourage you to dive deeply in the wisdom found within. Psalms and Proverbs are wonderful and will be a blessing to you. I will call to your attention that comments are visible to EVERYONE, not just that group. It is unwise to seek or give personal information. May the LORD guide and bless your study of scripture.

One more question Clara_Bryant, who are u living with if ur parents died?

Ok. Sorry if I was asking about of u.

Trinity is one of my many names. And yes, my parents did die when I was quite a young age.

Hey Carla_Bryant, i reading the comments form another group, and you were talking about your parents….. I thought they died at a very young age? And also other people have been calling you Trinity, Is that ur name?

😊

Thank you very much, Onfire! God has blessed you with a very encouraging spirit and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.

Welcome to the group Carla! If you have any questions feel free to ask.

You're welcome, onfire

Thanks, Rose!

Hi. I want to share with you a great resource which I believe is really good specially for memorizing long passages. Just google bates.link scripture letters. Unfortunately only the ESV is currently available.

Welcome!

Looks like Isaiah 43 is 28 verses. That is certainly doable if you are willing to put in the time. Since you are new, follow these steps:
1. In the upper right, click on Choose
2. Create a verse set
3. Create passage set
4. Type Isaiah 43 in the Quick find field and Lookup passage
5. Save verse set (do not make public)
6. Scroll down and click Learn
7. Go through all 28 verses (or 5-7 and repeat)
8. Right click on the back arrow in the browser and go back to the set (or click your name in the top right and choose verse sets, then open the Isa 43 set)
9. Click Learn again.

They should be refreshed now and ready to test again. Eventually you will hit them where they are not ready to learn. When this happens, go to step 10.
10. On the verse that is not ready to test, click on the three horizontal lines in the upper right (beside the %) and check the box labeled "Test instead of read". This will open the set back up to test earlier than when it is due.
11. Go through the set again.
12. Repeat until you know the chapter.

You may find 28 verses to be too many to learn in one go (i.e., you may forget verse 1 when you are at 14). What I like to do is go through 5-7 verses and then go back in the browser to the set and click learn again. Then I will check the "Test instead of read" box and do those five verses again. Once I feel good with those, I'll add a few more. I'll keep doing that until I get all of the verses in memory. Then I'll go through all the verses until I get them 100%.

Pro tip: you can pin the "Test instead of read" check box so that it always shows.

Pro tip 2: You can uncheck the box once you've finished a verse and check it again to instantly refresh the verse you just finished. This is a quick way to focus on a verse you are struggling with over and over.

Learning the verses will take about 2-3 hours. Reviewing them will take probably another 1-2 hours. Then take a break and do the set again. You can also get the audio version online for the chapter and listen to it in your spare time driving, taking a shower, etc., if you wish.

If you can spare 4-8 hours before graduation, you should have no problems memorizing 28 verses.

Once you get done with the craziness of finals and graduation, come back and memorize some verses when you are not on a time crunch. We're always happy to have another memorizer here!

Congratulations and good luck!

Hi there, I'm here to memorize God's Word. I have to do Isaiah 43 for a Bible College graduation (first week of May) and I don't think I have enough time!

Welcome! I use Anki as well, but not the mobile version. I used to use Quizlet forever, but I found that it became tedious going through every flash card when I usually only needed to touch a few I couldn't remember. Anki works like this website in that it uses spaced repetition, so you only see the flash cards that you are about to forget. So instead of seeing all 4000 Biblical Greek flash cards a day, I would see between 25-75 flash cards a day.

I also use Quizlet. I use most of the features, and it help a lot.

I use AnkiDroid as a supplement for Scripture memorization. It's a flash card learning method so it's useful for reviewing verses.

One of my favorite things about this site is that it shows your memorization "streak", which is a lovely way of keeping a person accountable to review every day and add a new verse now and then, as well as a "reward" as a person continues their "streak" of continuous days.

Something that I find helpful to memorization is the use of other apps as aids for certain verses. For example, trying to memorize a long verse with a list of items in it can get interesting in trying to remember the items in order, like Habakkuk 3:17 or Isaiah 61:1. So I use Verses - Bible memory by Verses, Ltd. Co. as that has a system of breaking a verse into sections for easier memorizing of which section fits where in the verse.

Also, The Bible Memory App by Millenial Apps, LLC allows for constant review of verses if a person wants to do so. I find it a good way to review while waiting for an appointment or whatever.

Thanks for all this excellent advice.

Well said!!!
It reminded me of this quote from Warren Wiersbe
“Outlook determines outcome; attitude determines action.”

When you hit these times, close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Take a moment to thank God for his word and the ability that he’s given you to memorize it. Take as long as you need but do not give up. When you start again, break the sentence down into smaller parts. Repeat the first part five times, then close your eyes and do it again from memory. Read that part and then the next part together, and repeat the process. Finish that verse, and then quit for the day. Say out loud, “I will not be derailed by one bad session, and I will be back here tomorrow to do it again!” Then get up and do something fun to reward yourself for your perseverance.

Whenever you are faced with a difficult situation in life, you will hear two different voices in your head. The first voice will say, “You can’t do this,” and the second voice will say, “You can do this.” Whichever voice you listen to is the one who wins. Do not let the negative voice win. Remind yourself that the Creator of both the Word you are memorizing and the mind you are doing it with dwells within you through the Holy Spirit.

There are going to be times where you want to give up. You will come along a verse or a passage and regardless of how many times you try to remember it, it just will not stick. It is perfectly natural to want to stop during these times. Do not do this! The first time you quit is hard, but it gets easier every time after that.

On the other hand, those early wins may motivate you to push up the number of verses you memorize each day. While it is natural to channel this excitement into adding more verses, you should instead temper that excitement by understanding that you are in this for the long haul. After all, the more verses you add, the more verses you will have to practice in the days ahead. If you are not careful, you can easily burn yourself out as the reviews start to pile up on you quickly. Instead, just be patient and trust the website’s system. Try to limit yourself to at most one to two verses a day as you begin so you can get comfortable with how the website does things. If you are looking for other things to maintain your excitement, you can practice your verses on your user progress page. Other tips will be provided here as they become available.

As you begin, find a verse or a set of verses to which you are drawn. Perhaps they can even be verses that you know reasonably well already. Try not to pick anything too long or too complex in the beginning. For example, some users may want to jump straight into the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and if that is a selection that motivates you, I say go for it. But you may be better served by picking something smaller and more encouraging, such as Psalm 23. In the beginning, shorter, easily memorized passages are important because they will generate early wins that are self-motivating. Indeed, the first time you memorize a passage and retain it when you login the next day is an exhilarating experience.

It is likewise vital to be realistic about your Bible memorization goals. You will find out very quickly that anyone can memorize one verse a day with minimal effort as long as you are consistent at it. But to memorize the New Testament in five years (at five verses a day), for example, will require a commitment of two to four hours a day. Perhaps as you begin, you do not have a specific goal in mind. That is great too. All exposure to Scripture will reap great internal rewards. Indeed, the Word itself will draw you closer to God through spiritual inertia alone.

Before beginning, it is important to recognize the internal motivations that are pushing you to memorize the Bible. Indeed, there are many valid reasons for wanting to learn the Bible. Perhaps you are a pastor wanting to be able to add Scripture references to your sermons. Maybe you are a stay-at-home parent with older kids who now has extra time on your hands. Some may be struggling with addiction and hope to find relief in the words of Christ. Still others may want to impress their friends with their knowledge of the Bible during trivia contests. Regardless of your reason, it is important to identify them because they will influence the decisions that you make and how far you go in your Bible memorization journey.