June 4
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” (Ephesians 6:13-14)
With these reasons why scripture is so effective and so necessary in our fight against temptation, why do we not spend more time in God’s word and make more of an effort to memorize scriptures? We really have not good excuse, in my opinion. We all have time, and we all have the ability. But few, perhaps very few, Christians seem to have the desire to diligently memorize the scriptures. Ashamedly, I include myself in that number.
I have to confess that I am guilty of being less diligent in memorizing scripture as I have gotten older compared to when I was younger. Years ago, I memorized most of the books of Colossians, 2 Timothy, and James, and I memorized most of the Sermon on the Mount, Romans chapters 6 and 8, Psalm 1, 23, 103 and numerous other scriptures. Today I could only recite Colossians chapter 3 (and some of chapter 4), Romans 8 with some help, and Romans 6 with a lot of help. And also we recite Psalm 1, 23, and 103 somewhat regularly in our family devotions, so we still know those chapters. But I am amazed at how much I have forgotten, and I am not diligent in keeping it fresh, to my great loss.
I was fortunate to have come to Christ under the tutelage of brothers who emphasized scripture memory, and we carried cards in our pockets with scriptures written on them and reviewed them regularly. I then was exposed to a ministry that advocated memorizing large portions of scripture, which I undertook and successfully accomplished. But I did not keep with it, and I have lost the habit. Now is seems very difficult to do. But in my heart I know it is just a matter of my will and desire, and I know that if I pray diligently about it that the Lord would give me the motivation and clarity of mind once again. And the same goes for you reading this as well.
If we think we don’t have the ability to memorize scripture, we are deceiving ourselves or just making excuses; we all can do it. If a true impediment exists, then pray that the Lord would remove the impediment and open you mind to memorize His word. If we don’t think we have the time to memorize scripture, there again it is a matter of priorities, and I think we all can find an extra 10-15 minutes a day to focus on something as crucial as this if we truly want to.
I think frankly desire is our biggest problem. We don’t see a need. We think we can get by just fine without memorizing. Okay. Then why are you reading these pages? If you aren’t struggling at all with temptation, and you are confident you are doing God’s will, and you are certain that when you stand before Him and give an account for your time and your life that you will pass His judgment with flying colors, then I suppose you are okay without memorizing. But for the rest of us, those who are struggling with sin, those who are anxious about life, those who are carrying burdens and emotional scars that we don’t seem to be able to deal with effectively, we need to memorize scripture. We need to prepare ourselves for Satan’s attacks, because for some of us, they are already here. And we need to boldly recite scripture and rebuke Satan in the Name of the Lord.