Dallas Willard talks about the importance of memorizing scripture verses. I’m skeptical. First of all, I’ve never been really good at this. Secondly, that’s why they’ve invented smartphones--I can look up verses whenever I want. Yet, looking at a picture of food is not the same as ingesting it, digesting it, absorbing the nutrients into your cells, and then using the energy you receive to grow and move. Similarly, internalizing Scripture must be more beneficial than merely reading it.
In the past, I have tried memorizing verses, word for word, from archaic translations of the Bible. I also tried to remember chapter and verse references. Since I am not going on a quiz show, or trying to impress anyone else with my knowledge--my learning techniques have changed. I take one verse a day, put it in my own words, write it out, find songs about it online, sing it, ponder it, and silently repeat it throughout the day. This has worked for short verses. I am now trying to modify my methods so as to learn longer passages.
My goal is to be able to digest God’s expressions until they are absorbed into every cell. My hope is that these concepts will then power my thoughts, my will, and my actions.
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