Day 4: Memorizing The Word - How to be Victorious over the Enemy

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NLT)

Maybe you memorized this verse like I did many years ago in Vacation Bible School. Our teacher challenged us each day to learn our verse of the day, and I worked hard to get it right. To this day, I can recite this verse and text reference. Every time I quote the verse, though, I remember I still have room to grow in memorizing the Word.

The psalmist knew the power of the Word to help fight temptation to sin. Hiding God’s Word in his heart meant memorizing it, but it surely meant more than that to the psalmist—and to us. It is to meditate on the Word, to consider it deeply, to treasure it, to linger in it, to have it ready in our heart as a safeguard against sin. It is to be, like Jesus was in Matthew 4:1-11, ever on guard when the enemy aims his arrows at us.

How do memorizing and meditating on the Word help us to walk in faithfulness? The Word reminds us of God’s Spirit living within us (John 14:16), assures us of God’s help to overcome temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), teaches us that the Son of God is interceding for us (Heb. 7:25), and confirms God’s willingness to forgive us when we confess our wrong (1 John 1:9). God has given us what we need to walk in obedience—and the Word lets us know that truth.

Hiding the Word in our heart has a way of driving the demons away for a while. Our problem is this, however: we don’t always know enough of God’s Word to stand on it in a moment of temptation. Jesus did, of course (in fact, he quoted the book of Deuteronomy three times), and I do know some believers who have memorized much of the Word—but most of us aren’t there. Too often, we’ve lost the battle of temptation before we recall the Word we should have already hidden in our hearts.

Perhaps one of these guidelines will help you strengthen your Scripture memorization if needed. First, start small. Consider memorizing one or two verses each month. Second, choose verses out of your devotional time. When the text has already spoken to your heart, it’s easier to memorize it. Third, keep the verse in front of you throughout the day. I still use an index card in my pocket, but you might use an app or other electronic means to memorize the text. If you simply read the text many times in a day, you can memorize it almost without trying. Fourth, hold yourself accountable to someone who will benefit hearing the text, too. Get started somewhere in your memorizing!

ACTION STEPS:

1. Choose one verse to memorize this week.
2. Share your verse with someone else (including, perhaps, your children who read or a nonbeliever in your life who might be willing to “test” you).