How To Memorize The Bible Easily And Get The Most From It™

Copyright © 2013 by Adam Houge

All rights reserved worldwide. Permission is granted for quotations in all
manner of religious assembly.
Portions of the text may be reprinted for use in small groups, church
bulletins, orders of service, Sunday school lessons, church newsletters, and
similar works, in the course of religious instruction, or services at a place of
worship or other religious assembly with the following notice:
How To Memorize The Bible Easily And Get The Most From It ™ By Adam
Houge
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 Also By Adam Houge
The 7 Most Powerful Prayers That Will Change Your Life Forever

The 7 Spiritual Habits That Will Change Your Life Forever

How To Memorize The Bible Quick And Easy In 5 Simple Steps
Choosing Words That Heal
I Know That God Is Good But Why Am I Hurting So Much?
Miracles That Inspire
 Table of Contents
Introduction
The Basics
Know Your Bible
The Best Method
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?
Applying the Method
Final Thoughts
Tricks That Work
Read First To Understand The Scriptures
Memorize What Speaks Out To You
Stick To One Translation
Get It Right The First Time
Chunk It!
Memorize The New And Interesting
Say It Out Loud
Use Audio Bible For Auditory Learners
Say It Without Looking At The Pages
Get Comfortable
Get Up And Move Around
Focus
Remove Distractions
Use It Or Lose It
Memorize The Verse Before Being Concerned With Its Location
Visualize The Words
Pick The Best Time Of Day
Pray
Worship First
Lean On The Holy Spirit
Test Yourself
Only Memorize Verses You Intend To Use
Do Not Memorize And Work At The Same Time
Do Not Be Disheartened
Press Hard To Focus
 Stop When You Can’t Focus Anymore
How To Get The Most From Reading Your Bible
Introduction
Pray And Let God Speak To You
Incline Your Ear
Write And Meditate On What God Says
Memorize The Words He Speaks In The Bible And Not Just Any Scripture
Carry The Words With You
How To Increase Your Faith Beyond The Mustard Seed
Introduction
Believe That God Loves You
Believe That God Does All Things out of Love for Your Good
Stop Worrying
Learn to Depend on God for Everything
Seek God’s Will for Your Life
Learn to Listen to His Voice
Forsake Your Own Judgment and Wisdom to Follow the Voice of God
Learn to Be Patient With God
Dwell on How He Has Been Faithful
Have a Heart of Gratitude
Look for the Lessons God Is Teaching You Through the Circumstances
Walk in Love Toward Others Even If It Means Sacrifices
Learn to Sit Daily in His Presence
Learn to Surrender to God
Listen to His Voice and Listen to His Comfort
Pray Often, Releasing the Issues of Your Heart to God
Listen Intently for Answers While You Pray
Refuse to Accept Doubt
Read the Word Often
Memorize Scriptures That the Lord Has Used to Encourage You
Thank God for Opportunities of Faith
God Inhabits the Praises of His People, So Worship Him in Every Circumstance of Life
I’d Love To Hear From You!
Also By Adam Houge
About The Author
 Introduction
Welcome to the life changing rewards of Scripture memorization! After this challenging course, you’ll
be changed down to the core because you will understand your Bible like never before. When you
increase your understanding of God’s word, it changes how you think, act, walk, and breathe. His word
dictates how He wants us to live, and the more we understand how to apply our Bibles, the more like
Jesus we become. But prepare yourself for the work that lies ahead. There is always work associated
with memorizing, but the rewards of knowing God’s word are infinite.
I believe that every Christian should know the word of God by heart. How can you practice the word
unless it’s locked in your heart? How can you lock the Scriptures in your heart unless you memorize
them? This is not a call to be vainly religious by impressing people with a bunch of Scriptures. This is a
call to know your Bible for your own personal walk.
I have personally memorized many books in the Bible word for word. I am convinced that any
Christian can memorize dozens of books and recall them word for word flawlessly, just as I have. In
this book, I will be teaching you the method that I have used to memorize so much Scripture.
It is an easy-to-follow formula that does require a little elbow grease. But after you’re done, your sword
will be sharper that you ever thought possible.
 The Basics
We know that God commands us to apply His word and be found faithfully walking in it. How can we
apply it unless it’s locked in our hearts? Thus we know that God also commands us to retain His word
in our hearts. It is necessary for each of us to memorize. But how do we know God wants us to
memorize His Bible? Does He truly command us to memorize? I believe He does, which is why it is
written,
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart
I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my
heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my
lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight
myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” Psalm 119:9–16
It’s clear that God calls us not to forget His word. How can we remember unless we memorize? What is
sin? To depart from the ways of God. How shall we keep from going off course if His word, which
establishes His will, isn’t bound in our hearts? Hence we are also called to meditate on the Scriptures
always. As it is also written,
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor
sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates
day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its
season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1–3
We must meditate day and night on the Lord’s word—both what His Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts
and the Scriptures. But that God wants us to bind His word in our hearts is evident. For we read,
“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your
eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;” Proverbs 4:20–21
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for
you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7–8
In order to bear the fruit of God, His words must abide in us. How can they abide unless we memorize
them and meditate on them continually? The word “abide” in this Scripture is “meno” in the original
Greek. Meno means to abide, to dwell, or to continue in the presence or concept of. Thus is it more than
obvious that God is calling us to both dwell in and continue in His word daily. But does God really
want His word to dwell in us? As it is written,
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
Let His word dwell in you. Be established in it, and meditate upon it that you can rightly apply it. Even
as it is also written,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
We must rightly divide the Scriptures and know His doctrine perfectly so that we will know how to
apply it. Yet we could never apply His word unless we remember it for application, which is why it is
also written,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the
word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself,
goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of
liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed
in what he does.” James 1:22–25
Don’t merely read God’s word. Study it, know it, meditate on it, and memorize it so you can practice it.
Even as God commanded Joshua, so He commands each of us. As we read,
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that
you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8
The book of the law was the only written word of God in Joshua’s time. Now we have the law of
liberty, which is the law of Christ. We know that we fulfill this law through the Holy Spirit as we
practice God’s love. But we still are required to meditate on and memorize His word that we can know
what the love of God looks like. How can we apply something if we don’t know how it works? If a
person doesn’t know how to operate a factory machine, how can they manufacture anything? Likewise,
if we don’t know the word of God, we cannot produce the fruit of righteousness. Faith may not always
require knowledge, but it always requires understanding. We don’t always know how a circumstance
will turn out when we put our faith in God, but if we understand the character and nature of His love,
we will understand that He will work everything together for good.
Now, some may argue that it is not necessary to memorize so much Scripture. But we cannot practice
God’s will unless we understand it perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with memorizing this amount of
Scripture if you intend to use it for your own personal walk. But if anyone wants to use the Scripture to
show off and impress others, then they’ll vainly puff themselves up. Even as it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
If we love one another, we will edify each other with the word of God. There is nothing wrong with
understanding the Scriptures in the deepest sense and using that knowledge to edify the brethren. In the
days of Paul, Bibles were not as abundant as they are now. Many Christians had to memorize entire
books so that they could carry the words with them in their heart. It began with the oral tradition of the
Pharisees, who believed that the fathers before Moses passed down the traditions orally. These were the
traditions that Moses wrote about. So it became a part of the Jewish tradition to both read and orally
share the word of God. Today Christians have become so dependent on their Bibles that many could
not discern Scripture without having a Bible in hand.
Imagine going to a foreign country to share the word of God where a Bible is not permitted. How can
you teach anyone from the Scriptures unless you smuggle a Bible in? It sounds noble to smuggle
Bibles, but there’s nothing wrong with smuggling it in through having it bound in your heart. Those
that live in hostile countries tend to memorize more Scripture because a Bible is hard to find. So it
means more to them than it does to us. But God’s word should mean everything to us!
It is impossible to study a vast amount of Scripture without having the right heart. It is easy to be
complacent and ask such questions as “Why do I need to memorize so much? Where can I find time to
do that? How is it even possible to memorize so much?”
Now let’s answer these questions one by one. We have already addressed why we need to memorize so
much. How can we find time? Simple. If we love the Lord, we will make time to put Him first. Even as
it is written,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
Seek God’s kingdom first, and worry about the rest later. Make time for God because He’s more
important. If you don’t have time, then make the time and be diligent to study your Bible. Memorize it
faithfully. You will never memorize it unless you make a commitment to do it. This commitment
requires a disciplined heart. You must be self-disciplined and force yourself to do it. It’s easy to
become complacent with all the distractions around us. It’s easy to desire entertainment over education.
But let each of us be educated in the things of Christ and simpleminded in the fleshly entertainment and
sin of this world.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with being entertained. But if it gets in the way of a relationship with God,
then it has to be set aside. If one cannot set it aside, then they have an idol. Most people would have at
least an extra hour or two per day if they put aside entertainment. Consider yourself. How much time
can you make for God? Doesn’t He deserve the time from you? Be diligent to memorize His word
today.
If you need to, make an agreement with yourself and your family. Write it up on a piece of paper and
sign it if you need to, but ask your family to keep you accountable. If they see you being idle, they can
encourage you to seek the Lord.
I have heard one memory expert tell Christians to make a covenant with God on paper and sign it. In
the covenant, they claim that a person should come up with a date on which you guarantee God that
you will completely memorize the particular book. This person says that it makes a person very serious
about memorizing the word of God and keeping to it. While we must take memorizing His word
seriously, I question the expert who said that. This man claimed to have memorized dozens of books
from the Bible word for word, including the book of Matthew. If he truly memorized so much, then
how did he miss the scripture that says,
“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is
His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head,
because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For
whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:34–37
God makes it clear to never make an oath. God makes the covenants, and we are called to believe them.
Let your yes be yes and no be no. Show your fervent heart by being committed but only within a
biblical context. It doesn’t do anyone any good to memorize a mess of scriptures and then end up
having no idea how to apply them, which was the case for that memory expert.
Nevertheless, we should be committed to seeking the Lord and understanding His word. God is pleased
by those who diligently seek Him. Even as we read,
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and
that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be found faithfully seeking God. Diligence is best defined as faithfully doing something
when it is least convenient. If it is difficult for you to memorize Scripture due to a time constraint, then
consider when you are most mentally alert and make time during that part of the day. God deserves our
time. So let each of us prioritize accordingly that we can become more intimately attuned with His
word.
It is easier to memorize God’s word when you’re mentally prepared for it. This preparation simply
comes through being awake to the Holy Spirit. First you need to be alert in your mind but more so in
the Spirit. To prepare for memorization, it is good to worship or pray for a good period of time first.
Continue to do so until you feel the Spirit; that way you can memorize through the Spirit—a technique
that we will discuss later.
 Know Your Bible
It is worthless to memorize something you don’t understand. Take the time to study the Scriptures, then
memorize the things that the Spirit has explained the context to and the meaning of to you. That way,
when you understand the meaning, it will have real life application. It’s hard to retain scripture that
doesn’t have any purpose for your life. This is true to anything. Consider your days in high school.
There are many things that you learned that you haven’t applied for years, and how much of that has
been retained? However, the things you have applied you still remember to this day. But the things you
haven’t applied, you need to brush up on.
It is the same with the word of God. Whatever Scripture you intend to apply in your life should be
memorized. Then as you apply it and meditate on it, your mind will be able to retain it longer.
If you understand something, it is easy to remember it. If it is useless to you, you won’t retain it. For
example a nonsense phrase is difficult to remember. Try memorizing this: fa na sa pa la na ba da fa pa
ga sa ya la da pa na fa.
This may seem ridiculous, but it has a point, so stop reading and try to memorize it. It will be very
difficult even though it has fewer letters when compared to most verses. In fact, it’s easier to memorize
a longer verse such as John 3:16 than that. Anything that has real life application means more to your
mind and is retained longer. It is held together by passion, and that passion is centered on your love for
Christ. When you intend to fervently apply the word of God through love, you will retain it more
effectively. The things that are applied are held onto longer, but you must have the love, the passion,
and the zeal to apply what you’re going to memorize.
If there is no purpose for the scripture that you’re going to memorize, then there is no point to
memorize it. It will only be for prideful reasons. But if you have a purpose for it and a use for it, then it
will benefit you.
Also, unless you are very serious in your attempt to memorize, it will be very difficult to memorize
more than one verse. First you must diligently seek the Lord. Then He blesses those that diligently seek
Him. How does He bless them? He helps them retain it. Hence we read,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
It is more than evident that we can find wisdom through faith in Christ. And we know that God wants
us to understand our Bibles. How can we apply His word with an ounce of discernment unless we take
the time to know and understand the Scriptures?
We must allow room for critical thinking that life application can take place. If we memorize a vast
amount of Scripture without knowing its meaning, then we’ll only have useless information. What’s the
point to remembering something you won’t use? It is better to memorize that information only after
having gained insight as to how it is practical for your life. Then by using the scripture daily, it will be
retained longer. It is more useful for memory to use a scripture once a day for 55 days than it is to
repeat it to yourself 55 times a day without knowing how to use it.
There are some Christians that want to memorize Scripture without actually knowing its meaning. They
feel it has some sort of underlying purpose that will aid them in the end. Some feel it will make them
look good as Christians. But in truth, while such a person may accurately recite the scripture to another,
they will wrongly apply it. So the end result makes the person look unwise rather than spiritual or
godly.
 The Best Method
There is really only one method that has worked for thousands of years. Rote. By this method, billions
of people throughout time have memorized whole books, sacred texts, musical symphonies,
mathematical laws, and countless documents. Even today it is the preferred method of memorization
for children in schools. Children with mental disabilities memorize best through variations of rote. It is
and always has been the preferred and perfected method of memorization for every individual on the
planet. If a child with a mental disability can use it and remember much, then why can’t anyone else? It
is the most basic and simplistic method that employs the best method for retaining a memory.
Various methods of rote use all three methods of learning to establish a long-term memory: kinesthetic,
auditory, and visual. It does use much repetition, which some people like to avoid. The reason why
repetition is superior is that our minds are programed by God to remember things we encounter
frequently. If we frequently encounter a difficult circumstance, for example, God created us to think
creatively to overcome it.
But if we experience an obstacle only once, we may not remember how to overcome it. In as much as
some would prefer to avoid memorizing by repetition, it is actually better for them. But by and large, it
is much easier to remember something we encounter every day for a month than 30 times in a day. It
isn’t about how much we repeat things to ourselves but how often we use them on a daily basis.
Remember the “use it or lose it” mentality? It certainly applies with memory. If we meditate on the
word of God daily, we are more likely to retain it for the long term.
There are two things that stick out in the memory: a repeated experience or an extremely emotionally
elevated experience. I bet you can remember a terrible nightmare you had as a child but can’t remember
what you dreamt one month ago today. Extremely heightened states of fear, joy, anger, and all other
emotions open the mind to retain a memory. This is why some experts claim you should create strange
mental images to remember scripture or other texts—because it incites emotions of intrigue or laughter.
Yet no context can be retained by this method. This is where knowledge deviates from wisdom.
Wisdom is the ability to accurately apply knowledge, whereas knowledge is merely stored information.
While there are many tactics that can help you store information, relatively few help you to accurately
apply what you retained. Rather than using useless methods to retain worthless material, we need to
focus on the things that help us to retain the Scriptures for proper application. As we said before, so
now I say again: what good is it to remember the Bible if we don’t understand how to properly apply it?
We can’t retain the word of God unless it is held through daily use. So the best method is to repeat the
Scriptures to ourselves and apply them daily. None of us will have heightened states of emotion with
each verse, so it is best instead to just be diligent and memorize the Bible through self-discipline and
age-old tactics that work.
There are many Bible scholars and memory experts who have memorized entire books of the Bible
word for word using the rote method or variations of it—myself included. I teach a variation of rote that
is built on the power of faith in the Holy Spirit.
The rote method was developed thousands of years ago before print was known to exist. Seeing that
people couldn’t write down the information they needed for later reference, they would memorize it.
Even the ancient Jews, especially the Levites and scribes, would memorize whole texts word for word
using rote.
Due to the results this method produces, it has been employed by billions of people for thousands of
years. This method works so well for any individual that all major religions have employed it. For
example, in Buddhism, the Buddhist monks use rote memorization to memorize their sacred texts. They
are required to memorize several pages of an entire topic as little children before they can even discuss
its meaning. (We as Christian’s should meditate on the meaning before we memorize and during
memorization.) By the time a monk “graduates,” their level of understanding of their faith is about the
same as a Christian who has their doctorate. This goes for every Buddhist monk because of the way
they go about studying their faith.
It is known that they are a very self-disciplined and determined people. A Buddhist monk is a Kung Fu
monk, known to be one of the most self-disciplined people in the world. They have employed rote
along with self-discipline to memorize sometimes hundreds if not thousands of pages of religious text
word for word. Unlike a Buddhist monk, self-discipline and consistency are the things that many (but
not all) Christians lack today. If we employ more self-discipline and remain consistent with it, it
doesn’t take long to memorize entire books and epistles from the Bible.
But it is true that some Buddhist monks memorize thousands of pages. The Guinness Book of World
Records of 1985 had listed a Buddhist monk by the name of Bhaddanta Vicittabi Vumsa as recalling
the most text by memory. In one circumstance in 1954 he recited 16,000 pages of their religious text,
which he knew by heart, word for word with no errors, in front of an audience. He had memorized all
20,000 pages of their sacred texts and all of their commentaries as well, whereas there are only 1,200
pages in the standard Bible. Yes, there may be different amounts depending upon the size and
translation, but it generally amounts to less than 2,000 total pages. If then a Buddhist can memorize
20,000 pages, why can’t we memorize 2,000?
But Buddhists aren’t the only ones that use this method. There are some Muslims, for example, who
have memorized the entire Koran word for word. Such individuals are called “Hafiz,” which literally
means “guardian.” They are called this because the Muslim faith considers such people as guardians of
the faith. So quite literally, there are enough Muslims that memorized the entire Koran word for word
that they gave them a name for their achievement. Their Koran has 114 chapters comprised of 6,236
verses. This is over 80,000 words, which they know word for word by heart. Both Muslims and
Buddhists use rote memorization to memorize these vast amounts of verses.
If then a Buddhist or Muslim that does not have God can memorize their entire volume of sacred texts,
why do so many Christians that have the Holy Spirit struggle with memorizing a few verses of the
Bible? For both the Buddhist and the Muslim, it comes down to self-discipline and persistence. But
many Christians struggle with understanding how to remember the word of God. If we believe that we
are saved through faith and faith comes by the word of God, then why don’t we take it more seriously
to be self-disciplined to remember the Scriptures word for word? Why don’t we become “guardians of
the word,” so to speak, by guarding the word in our hearts through memorization? If we don’t apply
self-discipline and persistence to know the Lord more then how can we claim to treasure His word? If
we treasure it, our actions will prove it. Let each of us be diligent to memorize His word, taking it to
heart and growing in the discernment of it.
But some find it very difficult to memorize a few verses. This doesn’t have to be the case seeing that
we have God. It is a matter of understanding that God wants to help us at a one-on-one level and being
self-discipline enough to seek it. Other religions memorize what they do through the power of the flesh,
so how much more can we do so through the power of the Spirit? But God is always faithful to bless
those that seek Him. Remember that it is written,
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and
that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be firm with yourself and make time for God. Let each of us awake to righteousness and
seek Him. Memorize your Bible so you can apply it faithfully. How can you apply something if you
don’t remember it? Stand firm, and be self-disciplined!
 What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?
What is God’s suggested method for expanding our memory? Surely if the Lord has something to say,
it would be perfect. So what do we read?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it
will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5–8
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
God shows us through the word that He is the source of wisdom, and the Holy Spirit helps bring it to
remembrance. So the secret for a truly deep memory is understanding how to tap into the Spirit. Is God
incapable of helping you retain His word? If He expects you to apply it and offers help through the
Spirit to assist you in its application, then certainly the Spirit will help you retain His word.
So before we do any memorizing, we need to prepare our hearts in the Spirit. We will discuss this more
in depth later.
 Applying the Method
Rote memorization is an age old tactic. We often desire to read about new tactics, but sometimes the
oldest ones are best. Why? Because they’ve had thousands of years to be perfected, while the new idea
is from the office of a quirky professor’s that made a single discovery. Those tricks that professor
employed have only been studied by him or a team of his colleagues. What good is it to apply
something that hasn’t worked for anyone outside of a lab experiment?
How does rote work, and how can it be applied to the Bible? Simple. Pick a chapter in the Bible you’d
like to memorize and divide it out by the number of verses it contains by the number of days you’d like
to take to memorize it. So for example, let’s say you wanted to memorize the book of James in two
weeks. There are 108 verses in James and 14 days in two weeks. So 108/14=7.7
If you memorized eight verses a day it would take you 13.5 days, which is 14 days seeing that the half
day would be the fourteenth day.
With the rote method, you would then memorize each verse out loud on the selected days. For example,

1st Day) While speaking out loud and in your mind, memorize the first verse and recite it at least five
times. Then move on to verse two; memorize it and recite it from memory five times without flaw.
After you have memorized verse two, recite verse one and two together five times without flaw. Move
onto three and memorize it, and recite it five times out loud without making a mistake. Then recite all
three verses together five times without making a mistake. Continue this process until you have
memorized all eight verses. You’re done for the day.

2nd Day) First try to recite yesterday’s eight verses without flaw once. If you can, then proceed to
finish reciting it all five times. If you fail, then rememorize the portion you forgot and then recite it all
together five times out loud.
Afterward move on to verses 9–16, and memorize verse nine repeating it out loud five times. Then
move on to ten, repeating that five times. Now when you have ten down, don’t recite 1–8. You did that
yesterday and were only brushing up today. Instead, you need to recite 9 and 10 together five times.
Then work on 11 and recite five times then 9–11 five times until you’ve memorized 9–16 and recited
that five times without failure as well. After you’re finished with 9–16 then, recite 1–8 and 9–16
together, then all 16 verses. When you’ve done this five times without fail, you’re done for the day.

3rd day) Recite 1–16 five times without fail. When accomplished, move on to verses 17–24. Repeat the
same method from yesterday and every consecutive day until all 108 verses are memorized in 14 days.
When you’re doing this method, you’re also supposed to walk back and forth or sit on the edge of your
chair for mental alertness. If you recline or sit back, it tells your brain that it’s time to shut down and
rest. So take it seriously, and sit forward in your chair.
Now, there are some problems with this method, which is why I have personally augmented it. The first
is that we are commanded to approach God through faith. We are to surrender to His work that works
in us that He may work through us, as we read,
“To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians
1:29
Let each of us strive according to His working. It is easy to figure it out in our flesh saying, “If I
memorize eight verses per day every day, I’ll memorize such and such amount of books by next year.”
It sounds very appealing, but through faith in God, I have personally memorized whole books in one
day. God doesn’t need our logic; He can do anything if we have faith. If we strive according to the
inner working of the Holy Spirit, the resulting knowledge is greater than using human logic. If we
memorize in the power of the flesh, we will retain much but won’t always retain the meaning. When we
memorize through the Spirit, we always retain the meaning of the word for daily application.
We are not justified by our works. It is God who is supposed to work in us and through us. Hence we
are justified by faith because God operates through our faith. By using rote without augmenting it, such
a person is operating in the power of the flesh and not the power of faith. They are memorizing their
Bible by their own effort, little by little, rather than through the ability the Spirit supplies. Remember
that we established through Jesus that the Spirit will bring to remembrance His words. As it is written,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
Let the Holy Spirit bring the word of God to your remembrance. Have faith in Him that He intends to
do so according to God’s promise. It is the promise of God, and if you’re willing to seek it, you shall
obtain it according to the measure of your faith. If you’re passionate about His word, then pursue the
help and power of the Holy Spirit to understand and know your Bible. Don’t rely on your own heart or
own mental ability. Yes, God gave you a brain to use it, but He also gave you the Holy Spirit, and you
should learn to utilize His strength as well.
Now, there are MANY Bible scholars who have memorized whole books of the Bible using the rote
method. They swear by it and would teach everyone else to do it as well. But they are doing it in the
flesh and not through Christ according to His method, which we outlined. Yes, they may pray for help
before they start, but they don’t let God direct and lead the process. Rather, they pick a book they like,
divide it out, and apply the rote method.
But God calls us to be led by the Spirit in the things we say and do. As we read,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14
How can we be led by God in this? Simple. First we pray and ask the Lord to speak to us through the
Scriptures. We need to pray that He would show us the things He wants us to apply and memorize.
After doing this, read the Scriptures, and whatever sticks out to you is the Spirit speaking. So when the
words of the Bible jump out at you, memorize them. Find the entire portion that speaks to you, even if
it is a whole book, and memorize it.
Now, those Bible scholars who memorize using the rote memorize six to ten verses per day, and it takes
them over a month to memorize an entire book. But using the method I’m outlining, I have personally
memorized entire books in a day. It’s very draining and hard work, but it only takes a few hours.
I don’t consider myself to be any more intelligent than the next person; the only difference is that I do it
through faith and strive according to God’s work in me. I have learned that the more faith I have and
the more self-discipline I have, the more I can memorize. Again, I don’t consider myself to be any more
intelligent than another person. God doesn’t operate through my strength. Rather, He operates through
my weakness. As it is written,
“And He said to me, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…’”
2 Corinthians 12:9
Before I memorized through faith, I could hardly memorize a single verse. It was extremely hard for me
to even do five verses per day. But as soon as I acknowledged my weakness and handed it over to God,
He worked through me to memorize whole books and chapters. I know for a fact that everyone that has
the Holy Spirit can memorize as much as I have if they choose faith and apply self-discipline. If God
would bless me to do it in a day, why wouldn’t He bless you? I’m no better than you in any way! And
what do we read?
“But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God
shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.”
Galatians 2:6
God doesn’t favor anyone but gives the Spirit without measure. Listen to the voice of the Spirit through
the Scriptures, and let Him guide you to the things He wants you to memorize. The scriptures He
speaks out to you are the scriptures that He will help you with. As for the others, He won’t help you
with them until His timing.
While ALL Scripture is profitable, only some directly apply to our current life circumstances. God is
our teacher, and He chooses the lessons and leads us through the course book (which is the Bible). So
read along with the lesson God has at hand for you, and don’t go off on a tangent. Let God teach you
and build you in wisdom. For we must all be taught by God and not ourselves. As it is written,
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard
and learned from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:45
By memorizing what He speaks out to you, He will lead you through the Scriptures His way. In a very
short time, He will guide you through all Scripture and help you memorize dozens of entire books as
He has done for me.
So beginning with the things God wants you to memorize, break them down and memorize and recap
similar to before. But first we pray and read to find the verses God wants us to memorize. After
reading, let’s say God really spoke out to us in the entire book of James. So we would memorize the
book like this:
1) Read the book, and make sure you understand it. What good is it to memorize a ton of
scriptures that you don’t know how to apply? After knowing the meaning and being sure
that it is what God wants you to do, pray and ask the Lord to open your mind to help you
retain the word and bind it in your heart. Pray for wisdom, and have all faith He will give
it to you. Then memorize the first verse.

Don’t recite it multiple times. Just move to the next after it is memorized, having
faith that God will help you retain it.

2) After finishing the second verse, recite one and two together. After you have done it
well, move on to verse three.

3) After three is memorized, recite verse one through three together. Then move on to
four.

4) Keep doing this until the chapter is finished. Recite the whole chapter without failure.
If you make a mistake, brush up in that one spot then try reciting the chapter again.

5) After you’ve recited it, you’re done with that chapter until the end of the book. Move
on to chapter two.

6) Memorize chapter two the same way you did the last chapter then you’re done with
chapter two until the end.
 7) Move on to chapter three, and memorize each chapter individually until all five
chapters in the book of James are done.

8) Afterward recite them all together without failure. If you make a mistake, brush up
then recite it. After you recite the whole book without looking at the pages, you’re done.
I do everything in fives as it makes it easier. Every five verses, recap on all five. With large books, stop
every five chapters and recite them all together: chapters 1–5 then 6–0 then 7–15 then recite them all
together, 1–15, as a whole. After you’ve done this, congratulations! You’ve memorized the entire book.
When memorizing, there is nothing wrong with looking at the page. After it’s memorized, though,
don’t try reciting it by peeking at your Bible for a reminder. If you have to look at the page, then it’s
not memorized.
There are some supposed experts on Scripture memorization who claim that there is no shame in
looking at the pages for a reminder. But in truth, if you’re looking at the pages, then you don’t have it
memorized. In the next few weeks, you’ll completely lose those scriptures that you had to open your
Bible for. But if you can recite it without looking at the page, then you’ll retain it longer. Besides, you
can’t always carry your Bible with you, and it would be good to remember every verse you memorized
word for word when you don’t have it on your person. Those supposed Bible memory experts who say
it’s okay to peek claim they memorized many books. But if they are looking at the pages, then the truth
is they are reading the Bible and not memorizing it. The books I have memorized I can recite without a
Bible in hand. Anyone can do this through the power of the Spirit. By doing it through the Spirit, it is
glory to God and not ourselves. If we do it through our own strength, then we glorify ourselves. While
there are many helpful tricks to memorize a verse, nothing could help you more for memorizing entire
books than applying the rote method through faith in Christ.
You will no longer need to look at the page, but you will need to brush up. Don’t listen to the Bible
readers who call themselves memory experts. They need a Bible in hand to teach because they don’t
have the whole book retained.
I have held scores of Bible studies examining the Scriptures word for word without holding a Bible. I
don’t do this to impress anyone but to encourage others that it is possible for anyone to memorize the
Bible in its entirety. By knowing my Bible, it has also opened the door to have impromptu Bible studies
in all kinds of unimaginable places and at unexpected times. I have had them at gas stations when
filling up the gas, in hotels, in the lobby, next to the pool, at grocery stores, in aisles, while standing in
line, in parking lots, and while walking through city parks. God’s word comes up all the time, and it’s
good to be able to study it with others at irregular times when we normally wouldn’t have a Bible
handy.
Know your Bible, and it will change your life! Be serious about it. Don’t memorize it to impress others,
but have a humble heart and you’ll become a blessing to those around you.
Now, if you’re struggling with putting two verses together, it can be helpful to chunk them. We use the
chunk method in many areas of life already. Think of numbers for example. 18165559471 is hard to
memorize, but if we break it into chunks like a telephone number, 1(818)555-9471, it is much easier.
When memorizing large portions of Scripture, break each verse into smaller chunks. After memorizing
each chunk, put them together as one full verse. After this, you can go on to memorize the next verse.
Try to memorize paragraphs three to five verses at a time. Take each chunk one at a time and each
verse one at a time. Work on the first verse then when you have it down, work on the second verse then
the third; go back and test yourself by trying to recall all three in order.
Try to say all three verses in order without any mistakes. If you make a mistake, go back and brush up.
If you’re having a hard time remembering which verse comes next, create a chunk between the two
verses.

For example, consider these two verses:

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.” Romans 10:10
If you have both of them memorized but can’t recall them in order, then take something in between the
two verses, such as: “you will be saved. For with the heart one believes.”

Then after you have that chunk memorized, go back and recall them both in order. It will be much
easier to do so at this point. You can do this at every break in Scripture—anywhere that you’re having a
hard time remembering what comes next. If you’re struggling with a single large verse, then do the
same thing.
Also, confidence helps tremendously. Sometimes when we memorize a verse, we have it down
correctly but keep questioning ourselves in regard to accuracy. When you have established that it is
accurately memorized, be confident, or you’ll forget it more quickly. When you question yourself, it’s
hard to retain because your mind rejects it as bad information that needs correction. But if you have
memorized it well, then have confidence and move on. It may sound overly simple, but it really makes
a tremendous difference compared to constantly questioning if you have it right. If you’ve memorized
the verse accurately, then be confident through faith when reciting it. If you’re not, you’ll feel as if
you’re going to mess up then want to look at the page. Make sure that you have the verse memorized
correctly, though. It is easier to memorize a verse correctly the first time than to try to fix a verse that
was memorized incorrectly due to laziness.
Faith is the essence of everything. After having prayed and having asked God to help you memorize
and retain the Scriptures, then you need to memorize by faith. When I first started this method nearly a
decade ago, I struggled. I read James 1:5–8, which told me that God will grant me wisdom if I had
faith.

So I sat down to memorize that verse through faith. It was the first verse that I ever memorized through
faith. Later I memorized the entire book and moved on to other books. But when I first started on verse
5, I struggled. I always had a hard time getting a single verse down, and I couldn’t handle more than
eight verses per day. It took me a of couple hours to get those eight verses too!
But as I struggled, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t memorize it. When I was about to give up,
the Lord reminded me of two verses:
“Jesus said to him, ‘If You can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’” Mark 9:23
And
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Then I realized that I couldn’t memorize it, but God can. In fact, He already knows all the Scripture by
heart, seeing that it is HIS word after all. So I put my trust in Him that He would give me the wisdom to
memorize. I didn’t know how He would do it; I just trusted that He would and that it would be His
work. Afterward I finished verses 5–8 in two minutes tops.
As time went on, I began to realize that the more faith I had, the more I could memorize. I found it hard
to memorize whole paragraphs, but I realized through my journey that it was merely an issue of faith.
When I considered memorizing a whole book, I gulped. “How can I possibly do that!?” I thought. But
then I remembered not to trust myself. So I put my faith in Christ that He can do anything. Then I
stepped out on the water, so to speak, and He blessed it. After that, I memorized around 50 different
chapters and nearly a dozen books in about two months.
So I laugh at the teacher that tells you to memorize five to eight verses a day for a month and a half and
then you’ll have a whole book memorized. I memorized and retained a book per day on several
occasions during those two months. I could hardly memorize a single verse then suddenly through the
Holy Spirit, by faith in Christ, I memorized a vast amount of Scripture. I have now, over the years,
memorized many more books and chapters and have retained much of what I memorized.

Do I forget things through this method? Obviously. I have to go back and brush up like everyone else.
But I’ve found that brushing up is infinitely easier than memorizing, mainly because the scripture is
still there in my head. It’s just lingering around in a hidden memory bank, and I have to find it again. I
retain each book for about a month to two months before I need a brush up. Otherwise, I can recite it
word for word without a Bible in hand.
I believe with all my heart that anyone that has received the Spirit of God can do this too. The only
thing that you need is faith.
But you have to take it very seriously and be disciplined. As we said before, self-discipline is
something lacking in the church today. If your mind drifts off, then wrangle your thought back in and
focus hard on what you’re memorizing. Be serious, and take it seriously through faith.

God opens your mind for a greater wisdom through faith. It is not obtained through fleshly practice or
trial and error but only by faith. While many people have memorized and retained huge portions of text,
they did so with a great struggle. I’ve only needed diligence, and God did the rest. That’s all He
requires from you. If a person finds it hard to believe that they can memorize more through faith, then
that’s exactly why they’ve been struggling in the first place. Remember that we approach God and
practice His word through faith. Why wouldn’t we retain it that way either? This isn’t a method that
works for a few people but for everyone that has the Holy Spirit. As it is written,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance the word of God to the children of the Lord. All you need to
do is believe. God did it for me, and He will do it for you. Take it to heart. Don’t try this method; do
this method.
We never try to have faith. Anyone who tries to have faith doesn’t actually have faith. Anyone who has
faith does what they need to and operates in the Spirit of God. There is no “try”; there is only “do.” If
you “try” this method, it won’t work for you. Trying implies a level of uncertainty. You have seen the
Scriptures in which God promises to give you wisdom.
God has promised and intends to help those that have His Holy Spirit. The only way it can’t work for a
person is if they don’t have the Spirit of God or don’t have faith. Faith is God’s method, not mine. His
method works for everyone.
Consider the benefits of knowing His word intimately. Have faith in His power to help you then apply
this simple but age-old memorization technique. Now, one may ask, “Did anyone from the Apostles’
days memorize the word of God in its entirety?” We see that Paul memorized much Scripture. But our
greatest evidence is actually Luke. He wrote both the book of Acts and the book of Luke. He never
actually walked with Jesus personally, so the book of Luke was the testimony from the apostles he
heard. But he remembered it in extremely vivid detail. By this it is obvious that he memorized the
entire gospel narrative. Also, we believe that the Holy Spirit wrote the bible. So if the Holy Spirit wrote
through Luke, then it is more than obvious that the Spirit helped him retain the memory of the book of
Luke so he could write it and it could be added to the Bible.
When Jeremiah had his scrolls destroyed by King Jehoiakim, the Lord commanded him to rewrite
them. As we read,
“Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of
Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all
the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.” Jeremiah
36:27–28
Was it a lengthy scroll? Quite obviously. Hence we read,
“And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s
knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was
on the hearth.” Jeremiah 36:23
This scroll had columns of text, and Jeremiah remembered it all. It was obvious that He had them all
put to memory since he was told by God to rewrite it. Again, we believe that the Spirit wrote the word
of God. So it is evident that the Holy Spirit helped Jeremiah retain that information to write it again.
And as we stated before,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
As the Holy Spirit brought the words of the scroll to Jeremiah’s remembrance, so He will do for you as
you memorize the word of God.
God’s method works. Have faith in His power, and be very serious about memorizing His word. He
will help you on your journey and make your burden easy and your yoke light.
 Final Thoughts
Memorizing God’s word is critical for every believer. By locking His word in our hearts, we can carry
it with us for daily practice. This is why it is vital to meditate on His word after it has been memorized.
After you have the book or section in question fully memorized, come back to it a few days later to
meditate on it. Do not merely recite the scripture to yourself, but slowly mediate verse by verse. Take
the time to consider and absorb the meaning of each verse. As you listen to the Spirit, He will give you
revelation upon revelation in regard to how each verse fits together with verses from other books to
create a bigger picture. Even as we read,
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit
teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
As you meditate on the verses, the Spirit will compare each verse with other verses and teach you the
doctrine behind the scripture. You’ll begin to realize how the words fit together more appropriately in
ways you’ve never realized before. In some cases, it will be as if the Spirit opened your eyes to a
hidden meaning for the first time.
This is why I teach that it is best to meditate on the meaning of the verse as you memorize. That way
you can carry the appropriate doctrine with you as well as understand perfectly how to apply it in your
life. It is better to know how to apply the scripture personally than to know how to recite it to others.
We should sharpen our own swords in Christ before we sharpen another’s.
Some get carried away with trying to memorize the reference numbers with the verse. It is better to
memorize the passage as a whole in order to meditate on the meaning first rather than to try to
memorize the exact numerical location at the first. After you have meditated on the passage, then
consider what verses you’d be mostly likely to use; you can then memorize the corresponding reference
numbers. You certainly can memorize all the reference numbers at the first, but I have personally
learned that it is difficult to meditate on the meaning of the verse when a person is struggling to retain
where it is numerically located. Besides this, if you do not frequently use the verse, the first thing you’ll
forget is where it is located, leading to an endless cycle of rememorizing the locations.
It can be difficult to press ahead with new material to meditate on and grow in if you’re constantly
brushing up and focusing on the old. If you don’t intend to recite every little verse according to its
number to another person, then it would be best to remember what book and chapter it comes from and
focus on the meaning of the scripture to rightly apply it in your own life.
Some try to give an appearance of being spiritual through reciting much Scripture. But it is better to BE
spiritual by applying the Scripture personally through understanding how to use it rather than trying to
look spiritual without knowing how to properly use it.
Part of learning how to wield a sword requires the fighter to know how to properly use it. There are
some that enjoy spouting off scriptures but don’t know how to use them. They know where they are
located and have them memorized but have no idea what they mean. It is like a man in the market
strutting his stuff while showing off his sword: “See, I have a sword!” Or it is like the man that wants to
look cool by carrying a gun in a holster but has no idea how to shoot it straight.
Such a person is no intimidation to a thief or murderer. But the swordsman that knows how to fight like
a warrior is the dread of any thief. A criminal does not often take a poke at a marksman. Even so, Satan
takes advantage of those that memorize for prideful reasons. For he puffs them up with pride to make
them stumble. As it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
And also,
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Knowledge is merely stored information, while wisdom is the ability to properly use that information.
If you only memorize your Bible to look spiritual and share much information with others rather than
edifying yourself, then you’re doing it for prideful reasons. But if you are doing it for edification, then
consider the wisdom of meditating on each passage while listening to the Holy Spirit’s explanation. I
just cannot emphasize it enough; it is that important! Do not only memorize your Bible but take the
time to meditate on its meaning to rightly apply it in your own life. Take it verse by verse to absorb the
meaning that you may rightly apply it in your own life!
Do not let the devil take advantage of you. Seek the truth behind the scripture, and take the time to
meditate on it for your own personal use. Let each of us memorize our Bibles to grow in understanding
and applying them and not to look showy or flashy in what we know.
But one cannot be wise without knowledge. For wisdom determines how we apply knowledge. So if we
don’t increase in knowledge, we won’t increase in wisdom. Knowledge stored for love does not puff up
but rather edifies. If you memorize to be nearer to the Lord out of love for Him, then you will be
edified.
But if we do not listen to the Spirit, we will not be led to truth. For it is written,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not
speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:13
The Holy Spirit teaches us as individuals and leads us into all truth. We must be taught by God and take
the time to sincerely listen to the Spirit and grow in His word. Be intentional about seeking Him
fervently and continually throughout the day, and it will make a dramatic difference in your life. If we
don’t take the time to bind the truth in our hearts, then how will we remember it later for appropriate
use? And it is the Holy Spirit who gives us that truth, so we must be faithful to seek Him for it.
When you come across a situation in life where you need to apply it, He will remind you of the verse
that you took the time to memorize. All you need to do is grow in listening to the voice of the Spirit,
and then all things will be easier to apply with wisdom.
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
 Tricks That Work
This next part is a short list of tricks that help with memorizing. This is not an
all-encompassing list, and it may not be for everyone. The tips included here
you may already know, and practice already. But for those who need a list of
basic but helpful tips I have included the following.
Read First To Understand The Scriptures
It is easier to memorize something that you understand. If you don’t
understand what your memorizing your mind won’t have anything to grasp
onto when trying to recall it.
Whatever you memorize won’t be held onto very long. Therefore it is good to
read the word first. Before you memorize, read through everything and
meditate on it. Then after reading and having an understanding you will be
able to retain the Scriptures longer.
How can you practice what you’ve memorized if you don’t understand how it
applies to you? We memorize the word to live it out daily. We can’t live it
out if we don’t know how it applies to us. So take the time to read first and
understand what you’re reading and how to apply to daily life.
Memorize What Speaks Out To You
Don’t try memorizing the typical verses: The ones everyone tells you to
memorize. Rather, when reading the word of God look for the things that
speak out to you through the pages. Anything that seems alive and practical
for your current situation in life is God speaking to you through the pages.
Whenever God is speaking to you through the Scriptures He is teaching you.
Memorize what God teaches you, and the things He encourages you with.
These are easier to retain because God wants you to retain them.
Stick To One Translation
It is good to find the most accurate translation and stick to it. There are many
good translations out there, but find the one that is most accurate to the
original Greek and Hebrew. Most literal translations work best for this.
When you have decided on the translation you will use, stick to it. When
memorizing many verses it can be difficult to retain them if you’re jumping
from translation to translation. There is nothing wrong with using multiple
translations during a Bible study to bring a more complete picture to the
meaning behind the Scripture. But when memorizing stick to one translation.
Get It Right The First Time
When you memorize make sure you get it down exactly as it appears on the
pages. It is harder to fix an improperly memorized verse than to memorize it
right the first time.
If you don’t get the verse down exactly, your mind will be trained to
remember the verse inaccurately every time you recall. When in a dispute
about doctrine it doesn’t look very intelligent to improperly quote the
Scriptures. To be knowledgeable and appear knowledgeable we need to know
exactly what the word of God says.
Chunk It!
When memorizing a verse, break it down to chunks. Don’t try memorizing
the whole thing in its entirety. Think of numbers for example. 18165559471
is hard to memorize, but if we break it to chunks like a telephone number
1(818)555-9471 it is much easier.
When memorizing large portions of Scripture break each verse into smaller
chunks. After memorizing each chunk put them together as one full verse.
After this you can go onto to memorize the next verse. Try to memorize
paragraphs 3-5 verses at a time. Take each chunk one at a time, and each
verse on at a time. Work on the first verse then when you have it down, work
on the second verse, then the third then go back and test yourself trying to
recall all three in order.
Try to say all three verses in order without any mistakes. If you make a
mistake go back and brush up. If you’re having a hard time remembering
which verse comes next create a chunk between the two verses.
For example consider these two verses:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Rom 10:9
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.” Rom 10:10
If you have both of them memorized but can’t recall them in order then take
something in between the two verses, such as: “you will be saved. For with
the heart one believes”
Then after you have that chunk memorized go back and recall them both in
order. It will be much easier to do so at this point. You can do this at every
break in scripture –anywhere that you’re having a hard time remembering
what comes next.
Memorize The New And Interesting
Don’t memorize what doesn’t speak out to you. Memorize the new and
interesting passages -something that is practical for your life today. If it isn’t
interesting to you, your brain won’t be engaged enough to memorize.
Even if you force yourself to care it will be harder to recall it. So memorize
what is interesting and practical for your daily life. The more you memorize,
the more other Scriptures will be interesting to you. In the end you will
memorize much Scripture not just a few bits and pieces.
Also, don’t continually go over the old verses you already have memorized.
It is good to brush up on them but if you’re continually brushing up and not
refreshing your mind with new and interesting things it will be harder to
recall the old. But when the mind is refreshed with new content then it is able
to brush up more easily on older things.
Say It Out Loud
Sometimes speaking out loud can help. If you’re an auditory learner hearing
yourself speak can be very helpful. Also by the action of speaking it uses
more of the mind to help associate the Scripture with memory.
Use Audio Bible For Auditory Learners
Every person learns in different ways. Generally there are three methods of
learning: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. If you find yourself to be an
auditory learner it may help to listen to an audio Bible. Listen to the verse,
then afterward turn it off and repeat it to yourself until you have it down.
Say It Without Looking At The Pages
Try saying it without looking at the page. In order to remember it better, you
need to recall it without any assistance. If you can’t do that comfortably then
you need to work on it, otherwise your memory will be tied to having your
Bible in hand.
If you pay attention you’ll find yourself trying to glance at the page to look at
a word or two to give yourself a reminder. But if you want to be able to
remember the word of God without a bible in your hand, then you need to
train yourself to recall it without looking at the pages.
Get Comfortable
As we stated before, your mind remembers the new and interesting things.
Things that stick out to the mind are remembered most easily. When you
enjoy reading and memorizing the word of God you will remember it better.
Things will stick out to you more when you want to read the word of God.
If you desire to memorize it you will remember it more effectively. But if you
look at memorizing grudgingly, or as work, or a difficult task to be
accomplished you’ll be less likely to remember what you’re meditating on.
So get comfortable. Grab a blanket, sit in a comfortable chair, get a beverage
of choice, and treat reading and memorizing as something fun to do. When
it’s fun to memorize, you’ll remember the scriptures better.
Get Up And Move Around
It’s good to get comfortable, but when you’re too comfortable you’ll get
tired. When you’re tired your mind gets lazy and doesn’t want to work on
thinking. Needless to say it can also be helpful to get up and move around a
bit. Hold your Bible in hand, and walk around while you memorize.
Try not to walk to a destination, but pace instead. That way, rather than
thinking about where you’re walking, you’re thinking about what you’re
memorizing, while giving yourself a little mental release through walking.
Some people memorize better this way. When you walk it helps move your
blood around which can help you be more attentive and alert. Whatever helps
you with attentiveness is what you should be using for memorizing. Whether
sitting forward in a chair, relaxing, or walking around focus on being
attentive.
Focus
We need to focus on being attentive. Don’t let your mind wander while you
meditate on the word. Pay attention and focus on what you’re doing. If you
can’t focus then you’re not going to be able memorize. So utilize everything
that helps you focus.
Remove Distractions
God calls us to the secret place: A place which is distraction free where we
are able to focus our minds on Him. Turn off the TV, turn off the radio, stay
away from Internet, and turn off your cell phone.
Any of these things can and will be a distraction. If you cannot maintain
focus you will not memorize. If someone else is watching the TV then find
another room where you can be with the Lord privately, quietly. Keep your
phone off. If you get a single phone call it can lead to a very long distraction.
By the time you’re done talking your allotted time for memorizing may be
over.
Treat memorizing like a devotion. Be serious about it and remove
distractions. Meet with God in the secret place, lean on His Holy Spirit, focus
on His presence and memorize there with Him.
Use It Or Lose It
As the saying goes “use it or lose it.” Memorize what is presently practical to
your life. If you don’t use it you’re going to lose it. But if by daily practice
you use the Scriptures you will retain them longer.
God is our teacher, and it is good to focus on the lesson at hand. Memorize
what God is teaching you in the Scriptures, and what He speaks to you. These
things will be practical for your life in the here and now.
Then by walking in the Scriptures daily, you’ll remember them through
continuous use. We memorize the word to practice it; not just to know and
understand it but to walk in it. We’re not justified by knowing the word of
God, but by walking in it. Therefore, memorize what is immediately practical
to your walk and you will retain it longer.
Memorize The Verse Before Being Concerned With Its Location
You need to first understand what you’re memorizing and have it fully
memorized before you memorize where it’s located. If you memorize an
entire chapter you’ll find that you will forget what verse number the
Scriptures are associated with. If that happens at the very least you should
remember the chapter where it’s located in the book.
Before chapters and verse numbers ever existed only the books existed. This
is why you’ll see Paul referring to a book name as the location. Or Jesus
referring to “as it is written in the ‘Prophets,’” which is a collection of books.
Those who are familiar with the Bible will know where it is. With those who
aren’t familiar with the passage you can open a bible and show them.
Yet you should know exactly where it’s located. It is more profitable to point
a person to the exact location that they can find it for themselves. But it is
easier to remember the verse numbers after you have a full grasp on the
verses themself. So first memorize the scriptures you intend to, then go back
and memorize the reference numbers.
Visualize The Words
Try to visualize the words in your mind. While memorizing, close your eyes
and picture them. When you picture the words in your mind it helps you
remember the Scriptures more effectively. This is because you’re using more
parts of your mind associated with memory.
Pick The Best Time Of Day
As we discussed before you need to maintain focus to memorize. Therefore
memorize when you’re most mentally alert. Pick a time of day that you have
the most mental energy and make that your memorizing time. Much
memorizing can make you tired. If you’re tired to begin with, I’ll only get
worse. When you’re tired it’s difficult to retain anything. So memorize when
you have the most mental focus.
Pray
Ask God for help. It’s His word, and He desires for you to walk in it. Don’t
you think He will help you? Yet we know that,
“…You do not have because you do not ask.” Jas 4:2
Pray and ask for help in memorizing, then have complete faith the Lord will
help you. Afterward, as you memorize, rely on God and have faith that He’s
helping you. This method works for everyone.
Worship First
First take the time to meditate on the presence of the Spirit. This will wake
you up to the Holy Spirit to more clearly hear His voice. When you do this
you’re making God the center of your memorizing. When you make it about
the Lord and include Him, He will help you. This also helps everyone.
Lean On The Holy Spirit
Lean on the Spirit for help in memorizing. Pray for wisdom and He will grant
it to you. He will be your aid in remembering God’s words. Even as Jesus
said,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He
will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said
to you.” Joh 14:26
This method is what Jesus told you to do. This is His method for you. Do this
by faith. It’s the method handed down by Jesus and will work for everyone
who practices it by faith.
Test Yourself
Immediately after you memorize, test yourself to see if you remembered the
Scriptures correctly. If you didn’t get it down, then go back and work on it
until you have it down exactly. It’s easier to retain it when you remember it
exactly.
Only Memorize Verses You Intend To Use
If you don’t have a plan for the verse, then you won’t be able to retain it.
Scriptures are best retained through daily practice. If you’re practicing the
word of God just as you remember it, then you will retain it longer. This is
the “use it or lose it mentality.”
Do Not Memorize And Work At The Same Time
Whether you’re working on a house, a car, fixing dinner, or working a job, do
not memorize while you’re on the job. If your hands are into something else,
then your mind is on something else. Stay focused and meditate on the word
of God in the secret place
Do Not Be Disheartened
If you’re having a hard time memorizing something, then ask the Lord to
help you. If He doesn’t help you, ask Him why He isn’t. Maybe there is
something else He wants you to memorize first. Something much more
practical for your life today. After memorizing what God wants you to,
perhaps He will help you with what you with what you couldn’t memorize at
a future date.
Nevertheless, God leaves no one behind. Don’t be disheartened if you’re
having a hard time. You will get it eventually because you’re trying daily.
Only let peace reign in your heart and have faith in God.
If you’re having a hard time, remember that it’s you and not God that’s
having a hard time. It’s your flesh that is having a hard time, but as for the
Lord there is nothing too difficult for him. Therefore be at peace in your heart
and have faith. If you can’t memorize it now, maybe it’s not God’s
immediate will for you. Perhaps He wants you to memorize it later and work
on something else now.
At the very least, remember that according to the measure of faith it will be
granted to you.
Press Hard To Focus
There will be many distractions that enter your heart and mind.
Circumstances or events of life may run through your mind when you
meditate on the word. There will be noises that are made around you, and
noises within you but focus on the Lord. Before long you will grow weary
from meditating and memorizing, but press forward and keep going.
Stop When You Can’t Focus Anymore
When you don’t have the strength to continue then stop. Anything new that
you memorize, when you’re too tired to think you’ll forget. Yes you’ll
remember everything else you memorized before you were tired, but it’s
pointless to continue when you can’t focus any more. Memorizing and
studying the word of God can be very wearisome at times. As it is written,
“…much study is wearisome to the flesh.” Ecc 12:12
So when you’re tired stop and get some rest so you can continue later with a
rejuvenated mind.
How To Get The Most From Reading Your Bible
 Introduction
The Bible is the greatest and most influential book in all of human history.
People have fought for, bled for it, have been tortured for it, have lived for it,
and have died for it. It is the most powerful and influential book that has ever
existed.
There is no greater book in the world that men must live by, because
contained in it are the words of salvation found in Christ Jesus. There is no
other Name under heaven by which men must be saved Jesus Christ. And
there is no other word, than the word of God that can deliver a soul. This
book is the gospel of salvation and apart from the knowledge of it, no man
can be saved. This is the word of God and Jesus Christ is the Word made
flesh. The closer we get to the Scriptures, and the more we grow in them
practicing them daily, the closer we are to the Lord.
Knowing this, the need for understanding the Bible is of infinite importance.
We need to seek God on a daily basis in His word. Personal Bible study time
with God in the secret place, should be a daily practice. But when we read the
word some things help us get more out of it than others. Therefore it is
necessary to understand what will help us get the most from reading the
Bible.
 Pray And Let God Speak To You
When we read the word there are times that the words speak out to us and
there are times that it doesn’t. Many people suggest that you should read until
the word speaks out to you. But there are a few things that need to be
understood before doing this.
For example why does the word speak to us? Should we read when it doesn’t
speak to us, or when it speaks to us? Does it even matter?
When the word reads to you and you feel connected with the pages, this is the
Holy Spirit making the scriptures come alive. He is speaking to you due to
certain issues or lessons that need to be addressed in your life. He is your
Counselor and Guide sent by the Father. He will speak to you in the word and
interpret the meaning of the Scriptures. He will bring understanding to you
because in Christ He is your source of wisdom. You have the mind of Christ
because the Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ in you.
In order for us to become more connected with the word, we need to become
more connected with the Holy Spirit. Faith comes from the word of God and
salvation comes by faith. Yet the Scriptures tell us that faith comes through
hearing. As it is written,
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom
10:17
But how do we “hear” the word when we read it? We hear it when the Holy
Spirit speaks it to us inwardly when we read. When we understand this, it
becomes important that the word would speak out to us. It needs to speak out
to you, because these are the areas in your walk that God is teaching you.
And we must all be taught by God. As Jesus said,
“It is written in the prophets, 'and they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Joh 6:45
In order to come to Jesus you need to be hearing from and taught by God. So
then the question remains, “why do we have to read the word awhile before it
starts to speak to us?” When you’ve been busy throughout the day and
haven’t allowed your thoughts to dwell on the Lord, it can be difficult to feel
His presence. But when we focus on Him and His word suddenly we feel
Him there again and are able to hear from Him.
The reason why you hear the Lord after reading awhile is because you
haven’t been listening to Him throughout the day. Then when you sit down to
incline your ear to Him, you start hearing Him again. Otherwise you should
be able to sit down and hear God immediately when you read.
If your ear is continuously inclined to Him as soon as you open the pages
they will speak out to you. But if you haven’t been paying attention to Him,
like you should, then it becomes difficult to hear. This is why we worship
before Sunday sermon rather than afterward: It wakes us up both physically
and spiritually. Then with our spiritual minds more circumspect, we are able
to hear the Lord more clearly during the sermon. Similar to this, it is good to
sit in the presence of the Lord first before reading. Set some time aside before
you read to pray and worship. Then when you feel the Lord with you, focus
on His presence and open up the word. Where ever God wants you to read
you will feel the pages speaking out to you.
There is a second reason, however, that will keep you from hearing until
you’ve read a while. Perhaps what you’re reading God isn’t speaking out to
you. Then after you’ve read awhile you finally made it to the section of the
text God wants to speak to you. Although it’s good to always read the word,
it is better to hear the word -spiritually speaking. It is better to read what God
is speaking to you. If God is speaking to you in an entire book, then dive
headfirst into it. He will often do that seeing that the Bible is your
schoolbook.
God is your teacher and He is guiding you through the schoolbook. Your
homework is real life practice, and your tests are real life experiences.
Understanding this, it is most important to pray before you read. Ask the
Lord to give you wisdom and help you understand the Scriptures. Pray for
discernment and open ears to hear. Then when God speaks, pay attention to
what He is saying to you.
 Incline Your Ear
Write And Meditate On What God Says
God speaks with the still small voice. His voice is much like a whisper.
Consider the nature of a whisper for moment. It’s quiet and difficult to hear.
But a whisper is spoken between two intimately attuned people. They
whisper to each other to keep the conversation private. God is relational and
He is keeping His conversation with you intimate and private.
His quiet voice is a reflection of His relationship with us. He often whispers
because He’s speaking intimately to from His heart. It’s important to
understand that everything He says to you is from His heart and for your
eternal life. There could be nothing more important the words He gives you.
His words are for your deliverance and your salvation. Without His word, we
cannot be saved.
Understanding this we need to sit forward in our relationship with God and
incline our ears to hear Him. He speaks quietly not only for intimate reasons
but also that we should listen up. It gives opportunity for free will, because
we now have a choice to brush off His voice or to listen to it. But if God were
always loud then we would be more likely to listen to it, due to fear. But by
gentleness He gives a chance for free will, and perfect love. Those who freely
love, perfectly love.
When He speaks quietly it requires you to care about what He’s saying. If
you love the Lord your God with everything you are, then you will care about
what He has to say to you.
The words He speaks inwardly are infinitely important, infinitely wise, and
eternally impactful. Therefore beloved, incline the ears of your heart and
listen carefully to the gentle whispers of God. Make yourself more sensitive
to His voice and incline your ears to Him. In this you will hear God
frequently and grow to better understand His voice. The more you incline
your ear to Him the more you will grow in discernment of His will.
A little child learns to speak from their parents. They cannot learn unless they
care about what their parents are saying. When they do care, they can catch
on quickly to the human language. Likewise you need to sit forward on the
edge of your seat in your relationship with your Father and care about what
He has to say. In doing this you will quickly learn the language of God.
It will become easier for you to understand what He’s saying and His will
shall be clearer for you throughout life. Not that it will always be clear all the
time but it will be easier to discern His will a majority of the time. But that
God calls us to incline our ears for salvation’s sake is evident. As it is written,
“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.” Isa
55:3
When you pray that the Lord will speak to you in the Scriptures, the next
thing to do is find where you hear Him speaking. Read there and absorb the
meaning, do not breeze through it. Whenever you feel as if God is sharing
something with you then write it down. Always write what God gives you. If
He is interpreting the scriptures or comparing it to life, write everything.
Writing helps you remember it longer and it will be there for you for later
reference. I use a New King James wide margin Bible, for that purpose. That
way I can write my notes in the Bible and not over the words. But whatever
you choose to do is up to you. Your Bible is a study book, and although the
words are sacred they’re most sacred not when they’re written on paper but
when they’re inscribed in your heart. Therefore Beloved, write down what
you’re learning. If you choose to write it on a piece of paper then shuffle it in
the pages where it corresponds with the Scriptures. Leave it in your Bible for
later reference. That way every time you open the word it will be right there
for you.
Also this gives you opportunity to take notes on Sunday. Then by writing
what you heard God speaking through the sermon, you can add it to the
corresponding scripture that God may have spoken to you at another point in
time. It can help bring a more full picture of the word of God to you. And
thus it will enhance your understanding of the Scriptures.
In school the teacher always wants you taking notes. These notes will be
useful for later tests and homework. Likewise if you’re taking notes it can
help you in life practice and in the trials and testings of life. I can’t number
the times I was in the middle of a trial when I came across a sheet of paper
filled with notes that I wrote pertaining to the situation. When I read the
notes, which the Lord spoke to me months prior to my situation, I heard God
and it encouraged me. Why would we hear God from our own writing?
Because we are writing what God is saying to us and not what is in our own
heart. When we do this it gives us an opportunity for encouragement later in
life when we need it.
Also by taking notes it shows God that you’re serious about what He’s
teaching you and your relationship with Him. The more you take notes the
more you will hear God speaking to you in the Scriptures. This happens for
several reasons. The first is that God sees you’re serious and He will talk to
someone who’s listening. Would you talk to someone who doesn’t listen to
you? Neither does God talk to us very often if we’re not listening. But when
we incline our ears to Him, He increases His speech.
Also by writing when God speaks to you, you’re training yourself to listen
for the voice of the Lord. You are learning to better discern the difference
between words of your own heart and the words of God spoken to you by the
Holy Spirit. When you can make this distinction it becomes easier to follow
God and not be led astray by your own heart. When you write you’re
practicing communication with God. Practice makes perfect, and the more
you write the words He speaks to you the more you will understand Him.
After God has spoken to you it’s good to meditate on the Scripture He’s
giving you. Go back over your notes and meditate on them. Meditate on the
Scripture itself and take some time to sit in the Lord’s presence. As you focus
on His presence and turn your ears to Him it will be easier to hear Him. Then
as you meditate it gives you opportunity to grow even more in the Lord.
Godly Christian meditation is a necessity in our walks. But what does this
meditation look like?
The practice of medical meditation requires you to empty your mind of all
thoughts and to relax perfectly. Breathing deeply and rhythmically. This
meditation is for the purpose of deep relaxation which is good for many
health benefits. Many other religions practice this kind of meditation and
bring a spiritual twist to it.
But how do we as Christians meditate in Christ? Sometimes it is good to find
a place of peace -a secret place with God. Then in the secret place you need
to empty your mind of all things as you relax and rest in the presence of the
Holy Spirit. Then as you sit in His presence you need to listen to the Lord as
He speaks to you. In this you are mediating on the word of the Holy Spirit
and thus can grow in understanding the voice of God. Meditate on His
presence and focus your mind on it. Listen intently with your spiritual ears
both inwardly and outwardly, then you will begin to hear the voice of God.
Take the time to hear from God on a more frequent basis. In this you will
grow in sensitivity to His voice, and you’ll hear Him speaking to you all day
every day nonstop. You will know what His will is for you every moment of
the day. In the end there will be very few times that you won’t understand
His will for you. Then when you don’t understand, all you have to do is pray
and seek Him and wait for Him to speak. Because you perfectly understand
His voice from having practiced it continuously, it will be easy for you to
know His will the moment He answers your prayers.
When we write what He speaks it helps us to discern His voice. This is good
for later meditation on His presence and His goodness. When we meditate on
His goodness and His love, it causes our hearts to bubble over with an
inexpressible joy that results in never-ending worship. Therefore beloved,
meditate on the words He speaks to you and practice them daily. Meditate on
them by example and practice them. Incline your ear to Him and listen
carefully to His inward voice. Grow in discernment, and you will have a
more fulfilling experience when you read the Bible.
 Memorize The Words He Speaks In The Bible And Not Just
Any Scripture
When God speaks to us, the words He gives us are for real life practice. It can
be difficult, however, to practice what we learned unless we remember them
from day to day. It goes without saying that we need to memorize the
scripture God speaks to us.
Many of us go about memorizing the word by picking verses we like, or ones
that sound good. But it is better to memorize what God is speaking out to you
in the scriptures. As we said before God will lead you through the scriptures
and teach you what you need to know to walk with Him uprightly.
He is our teacher and seeing that this is the case we should focus on the
lessons at hand and master them. A good student puts to memory the key
elements of a teacher’s lessons from the text book. Then when it’s time for a
test, they already have everything they need to know memorized. They pass
the tests and end up not only being an ‘A’ student, but an honor student. If
then you being the student of God, want to be honorable, then you must put
to memory the lessons He’s giving you. As it is written,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not
need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Ti 2:15
Any scripture that pops out to you and seems alive is something God wants
you to memorize. If it’s an entire book then sit down and be devoted to
memorizing it. Many of the believers in the early church had the scriptures
memorized. They weren’t all able to carry scrolls with them and as a result
they had to put to memory everything they could. Look at Stephen’s
testimony just before he was martyred. He skillfully and accurately
paraphrased the scriptures before His persecutors killed him. It was obvious
that he had much of the scripture memorized for daily practice.
If you find it difficult to memorize I speak in great detail on this subject in
my books How To Memorize The Bible Quick And Easy In 5 Simple Steps
and How To Memorize The Entire Bible In No Time Flat. Being a preacher, I
need to know the scriptures like the back of my hand. I’m always running
into opportunities to share the Lord and so need to have as much scripture as
possible memorized. Through much prayer and meditation I have memorized
several books of the bible word for word. I believe that any Christian can do
this following the methods I outline in my books, if they put forth the effort.
Sometimes bible studies will come up at places you don’t expect when you
don’t have a bible handy. In that case it’s good to have the entire book in
question memorized that you want to study with a colleague.
Memorizing large portions of scripture is surprisingly easy. It takes much
work and dedication however. But in short if we first begin with the scripture
God gives us, the process gets easier. Then from there we should choose our
memorizing method of choice. I use the chunk method for my memorizing.
In the chunk method, we simply take the scripture and break it down into
easier to memorize pieces. Then after those pieces are memorized we put
them together and memorize them as one whole unit.
After you have decided what method works best for you, then pray for
wisdom before you start. Ask the Lord to be your help when memorizing and
then having faith, lean on Him for strength. Even as the scriptures say,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally
and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Jas 1:5
Only you must ask in faith. It is God’s will for you to have wisdom. He will
not with hold it from you, nor do you have to say “Your will be done.” It’s
already God’s will and He’ll give you what you pray for if you pray in faith.
Even as the scripture goes on to say,
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave
of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he
is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Jas 1:6-8
God wants you to be wise. He wants you to walk in Him uprightly and He
will give you every tool you need to do so. He will not leave you without
help, but even as He said He will send you the Helper who is the Holy Spirit.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for
He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will
come to you.” Joh 14:16-18
The Spirit is your help in time of need. When we need to memorize and grow
in wisdom He will be our strength in our weaknesses. He is the infinitely
wise mind of Jesus in us. He will aid us in every way possible to sustain us in
the Lord. He, being the very beating heart of Christ, will never leave you
helpless, only you must have faith in Him and be willing to lean on Him.
Can you have faith that the Holy Spirit will help you memorize? Are you
willing to press hard into God by faith while you memorize? You must
meditate on His presence and be strengthened by Him, then through time you
will see that it is easy to memorize entire books of the bible in no time flat.
 Carry The Words With You
When we read the word we try to carry the words with us and seek to practice
them daily. But the best words to practice are, as we said before, the ones
God gives to us as we read. Whatever speaks out to us we should be
practicing daily.
It is always good to read before you start your day. Find a spot that speaks
out to you and meditate on it. Mark it and memorize it later. But immediately
after your morning devotion continue to practice what you learn. Go forward
with your lessons and be careful to practice them. If you’re having a devotion
before work, take the words with you to work and practice them there. If you
practice the scriptures everywhere you go in life you will conduct yourself in
godliness 24/7.
Be diligent to practice the lessons you’ve learned on a day to day basis. Make
it your aim to grow in the Lord continuously. Push hard into Him and try to
grow daily. God is willing to teach you only be willing to commit yourself to
walking in Him daily.
Make it your effort to practice what you learned and to be an example of
Christ to all those around you. This goes without saying but sometimes when
we get caught up with a busy life we forget to carry Christ with us, in our
actions, to the work places, etc. It can be easy to blend in with the crowd at
our jobs, but God calls us to be separate. We have been sanctified by the
Lord. When a tool of the temple is sanctified, it is spiritually cleansed and set
apart for the service of God. We, like these tools, have been cleansed in
Christ and set apart for His purpose. Therefore beloved, remember to remain
sanctified and to come out from those around you.
Others find Christ in us through His love at work in us. They do not find Him
through us becoming like the world, but by being different from the world.
The love of Jesus is what separates us from them. There is much brokenness
associated with the world. If unbelievers see that your life is the same as
theirs they have no reason to believe that you have anything better than them.
We should not “be like the world to let the world in.” But rather by
sanctification we should show the world how far the east is from the west.
Not only by holy conduct but by loving conduct. The love of the world is
cold and conditional. But when they see the unconditional love of God at
work through us, toward them, they are drawn to the message we speak.
Therefore beloved make it your aim in everything to carry the words with
you and practice them daily. Remember to be a light always, and to show
kindness to all men. Both those who are kind to you, and those who are
hurtful. In this kindness they will find Christ.
When you carry the words with you, you can be an example to all men, both
to the believer and unbeliever. You can encourage your brothers and sisters,
lifting them up in the Spirit of God. And you can lead the unsaved to Christ.
The point is not merely to preach the word, but to live it. Yet some have a
custom of living the love of God yet not preaching it. We must be doing both
always. God saves us by His word, and faith comes through hearing it. If we
don’t preach it, then no one will get saved. Remember to memorize the word
and carry the scriptures with you. When you write what God speaks to you,
you’re making your heart more sensitive to His speech. Then when you’re
called to witness for example you will be more sensitive to exactly what God
wants you to say. You will be accustomed to listening inwardly to the voice
of the Holy Spirit and so give the message of God to the people. The unsaved
find Christ because they are drawn by the Father. As it is written,
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I
will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets, ‘and they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Joh 6:44-
45
Seeing that this is the case, we need to give them what God gives to us. They
need to hear and learn from the Father. Let Him speak to you what you
should say. He knows exactly what they need to hear because He’s been
drawing them their entire lives.
Speak the word and live the word. We are called to let our speech be
seasoned with salt. Christ is that salt so speak of His word always with
others. With the brethren constantly discuss the goodness of the Lord. With
the unsaved share the truth of His gospel and love. The world always speaks
idly, so turn those conversations around into a witnessing opportunity. No
matter what you’re doing, turn all time spent with the brethren back into real,
sincere and meaty fellowship.
Fellowship is more than time spent together in friendship. Fellowship is done
over a topic or interest. True fellowship can be defined as a group of people
meeting together for a shared interest or aim. Let not that interest or aim be
idle activities. But true biblical fellowship is that which is done in Christ. He
should be our shared interest, and our aim should be to become well pleasing
to Him, together as family in Christ.
Share the Lord with one another and so be edified by one another. Be the
example of Christ to your friends. If they aren’t bringing everything back to
Jesus, then you be the first. Bring every conversation back to the Lord and let
your words be seasoned with salt always. Even as it is written,
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may
know how you ought to answer each one.” Col 4:6
Edify one another and keep your tongue seasoned with the salt of Christ. If
you’re reading often and always memorizing there will be much to share.
God will lay things on your heart often, because you have His word on the tip
of your tongue always, and you have grown sensitive to His voice. You
should strive in such a way that your brethren will say of you, that you have
edified them every time they visited you. Before long brethren will begin
noticing the grace of God in you, and will look up to you because of your
wisdom. But true wisdom is not that which is contained in the head, but in the
heart. True wisdom is found in conduct and not in word only.
Even as we read,
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in
truth.” 1Jn 3:18
Make it your daily striving to grow in the scriptures. Share what you’ve
learned with others. And if someone needs help understanding something,
and God is inclining your heart, step forward and let the Lord speak through
you. Say what God gives to you, and be an encouragement always. As it is
also written,
“…be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in
faith, in purity.” 1Ti 4:12
When you walk in the Spirit like this your conduct will always be with love,
holiness, and purity. We should always walk in purity before all men. We
ought to walk in love and share it always. Live the word and walk in the
wisdom of it at all times. In so doing you will be an example of the love and
goodness of God, as a good ambassador of Christ, toward the unbeliever.
Even as it is written,
“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” Col
4:5
Share Christ with them that they may find Him. God will lead you in the way
you should evangelize. But it all begins with the time you spend reading the
Word. Read the Scriptures often and grow in sensitivity to His voice. By
doing those two things you will see a dramatic difference in your walk.
Hence you will get the most out of reading your bible
How To Increase Your Faith Beyond The Mustard Seed
Introduction
Trust is a cornerstone in every relationship. Without it, no relationship will
prosper. God calls us to have blind faith in a relationship with Him. If we do
not practice trusting Him, then we will not perfect a relationship with Him.
Therefore it is necessary to grow in faith always, no matter where you’re at in
your walk with Him. There are many ways to increase in faith, and
sometimes we need a little encouragement. In this book, you’ll find thirty-six
encouraging ways to increase your faith, especially during difficult
circumstances.
When you seek to increase your faith, you’re seeking to bless your
relationship with the Lord. Faith helps you overcome trials and get through
difficult experiences. By faith we are saved. Therefore, beloved, it is
infinitely important to grow in faith. Learn to lean on the Lord in everything,
and let His love carry you through the day.
Believe That God Loves You
God created you for a relationship with Him. With love in mind, He framed
you and delicately knit your sinews in your mother’s womb. He cherishes
you and treasures you.
God is your Father. He brought you forth in love, and nothing will ever
change His heart toward you. Everything He gives you is out of love.
Whether pain or joy, everything comes from a heart of love. Though it may
not always feel like He loves you when you’re going through a hard time, He
still does. Though it may not feel like He’s giving a hard situation out of love,
He is.
If you believe that He does all things in love, it can help you through a
difficult trial. God is there to see you through, grow you, deliver you, and
richly reward you in eternity.
Believe That God Does All Things out of Love for
Your Good
There’s a difference between knowing and believing something. Just because
you know God loves you doesn’t mean it always feels like He does. But if
you believe and persist in faith, you’ll find a change in your heart taking
place.
When it feels as if God doesn’t love you due to difficult circumstances, you
need to believe that He does and that He is still good.
God gives us trials to grow us in Christ and increase our faith. Salvation
comes by faith. As we read,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8
Therefore, beloved, know that when trials and tribulation come your way,
God is securing your salvation through love. Not everything God gives us
will be pleasurable. Our flesh is contrary to God, and God is contrary to our
flesh after all. He will give us what we need to edify us in the Spirit. If it
means some suffering in the flesh, He will give us what is best for the current
spiritual need at hand. He will teach you through your trial that you may walk
with wisdom and in the path of eternal life.
Our fathers have disciplined us to walk uprightly. They teach us how to be
responsible that we can have food on our table, good relationships, and less
suffering in life. Yet it all begins with something that isn’t desirable—
discipline.
Discipline is never fun but always painful one way or another, whether
emotionally or physically. Yet these things are given to us that we may have
growth and find life. If we were not trained how to live responsibly, we’d end
up constantly suffering brokenness until we figured life out through the
school of hard knocks.
Likewise, God also disciplines us. His chastisement can be painful for a time,
but the benefit is eternal. Because He cares for us and loves us, He gives us
what we need for growth whether we like it or not. So no matter what,
believe that God loves you.
Satan loves to tempt a believer during the hardest moments in life to think
that God doesn’t love them. But the way to resist the devil is through
steadfast faith. Do not give way to the enemy or let doubt linger in your
mind. But dwell on the love of God and believe that no matter what, He gives
you all things out of love.
Stop Worrying
There’s a statistic that says that one out of every four Americans die from a
stress-related illness before the age of 60.
Consider the size of your church, and take those under 60 and divide by four.
If someone is over 60, you can’t include them, because they’re one who made
it past the statistical age. That’s how many people will die before 60 because
of stress.

Jesus says that you can’t turn a single hair on your head white or black. And
He says you can’t add a cubit to your stature. The Scriptures also say, “…Do
not fret—it only causes harm” (Psalm 37:8). Fretting really does cause a lot
of harm. It causes harm mentally because you’re dwelling on negativity. It
causes harm physically because it puts stress on the body, and stress kills. It
also causes harm spiritually because rather than being built up and edified by
faith, you’re dwelling on fear.
Never fear a situation, but always persist in faith. God is your salvation in
everything; believe that He will deliver you. Remember also that the
Scriptures say,

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves
torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him
because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:18–19

As we stated before, God gives you everything out of love. If you’re fearing,
then you’re not being made perfect in love. Remember that we love Him
because He first loved us. Continue in faith, and do not give power to doubt.
Learn to Depend on God for Everything
When we get saved, we come out of a world of self-reliance. In the world,
everyone teaches that God doesn’t help you and that you need to help
yourself. They think they need to make the best of life and fend for
themselves. They feel as if they need to take care of “number one.” To them,
number one is themselves. But to Christians, number one is God.

Seeing that you believe God loves you and that you’re choosing not to fear,
learn to depend on God for everything. He is your salvation in everything.
This doesn’t mean that we should throw ourselves in harm’s way but that we
should live each day on God’s providence, surrendering our goals and plans
in life to chase after His will.

If you’re fighting to keep your head above water, financially for example,
then let go. There’s no reason to fight. Give the battle to God, seek Him for
providence, and He will lead you to it. Beloved, He will save you! Only let
Him!

Even though we’re in a raging sea, you’re not going to drown. Why? Because
Jesus Christ is your life vest, and you’re wearing Him right now. So put your
faith in your life vest that He will keep your head above water. Learn to
depend on God for everything. Pray and ask the Lord to deliver you, then do
what He says. Give Him opportunity to save you, and don’t seek to save
yourself. Live each day by God’s providence, and no matter the
circumstances, continue to rely on the Lord. Even as it is written,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own
understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5–6
Seek God’s Will for Your Life
As we stated before, we need to lean on the Lord. In Proverbs 3:6 we read
that He will direct our paths. He will only direct our paths if we live
according to His will.

God has an ultimate purpose and plan for you. You are a member of the body
in the church. You are not a lone tree but a branch among many in the tree.
Consider a branch for a moment. It has leaves, which soak up the sun, and
when it soaks up the sun, it feeds the rest of the tree.

So then, seek God’s will for your life, and soak up the Son. Let Him
illuminate you in His love, and live every moment for His beating heart. In
this, you’ll be used to nourish the rest of the body in the love of Christ.

Therefore seek the will of God and live by it. Let go of your ambitions, and
pick up God’s will for you—eternal life. Even as it is written,

“…Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of

your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God.” Romans 12:2
Learn to Listen to His Voice
It is written,

“…Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

Seeing that we find faith by hearing God, we can’t possibly increase in faith
unless we learn to listen to God’s voice. There are three types of “God’s
word.” There is the past tense, the present tense, and the future tense word of
God.

The past tense word is the proven, tried and true word of God in the
Scriptures. Seeing that it is proven, our foundation must be rested upon it.
Everything is founded on the word of God, including our understanding of
the active leading of the Holy Spirit.

The future tense is prophecy, and the present tense is the active leading of
God through the voice of the Holy Spirit. All three of these will come into
agreement with one another. Everything should be founded upon the
Scriptures, and if anything does not agree with the Scriptures, then it is not
God speaking.

Learn to live every moment of the day in obedience to God’s voice. Sit
quietly in His presence, and become familiar and sensitive to the voice of the
Spirit. If you have had difficulty discerning God’s will for you, then you need
to grow in discernment of His voice. Take the time to sit in His presence to
become sensitive to His voice. Pray for discernment, and God will bless you
with it.
Forsake Your Own Judgment and Wisdom to
Follow the Voice of God
In a self-reliant world, we are taught to trust our own judgment and our own
wisdom. We are also taught to follow our own hearts. But rather, we must
forsake our own judgment and believe that God knows better than us. Even
as it is written,

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says
the LORD.
‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than
your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8–9

Knowing then that our thoughts do not line up with God’s, we ought to line
our hearts up with His. Our own logic and judgment do not lead us to
salvation, but faith in Jesus Christ does. Therefore, beloved, trust in the Lord
in all your ways. Be diligent to follow His Spirit in everything. We follow
His Spirit by listening intently for His inward voice, then when we have
heard it, we need to immediately obey.
Learn to Be Patient With God
God doesn’t work in our timing. His timing is always perfect, and He always
knows when He needs to step in. If ever you go through a trial and you find
yourself becoming impatient through desire for deliverance, in this, you are
becoming impatient with God. Grow in patience, and wait for Him.
After you’ve seen Him deliver you a multitude of times and have seen that
His timing really is perfect, it will increase your faith. Why? Because you
will know that when you’re feeling impatient, Satan is afflicting you to fear
so that you should be impatient with God. If you endure, in due and perfect
time, you will see that God will save you every time.

As it is written,

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2

Timothy 2:3
Dwell on How He Has Been Faithful
One good way to increase your faith is to dwell on how He’s been faithful to
you before.
Remembering that God has done good to you can help you walk in a heart of
faith. So put your faith in His faithfulness, and remind yourself of every good
thing He’s done. Speak of them often, even to others, and bring Him glory in
all He’s done. Even as it is written,

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds
among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!” Psalm
105:1–2

Remember all the good things God has done for you. Dwell on them
constantly, especially when you’re stuck in a rut of negative thinking. Take
time to give glory to Him for all the good He’s done, and it will encourage
you to have a heart of faith.
Have a Heart of Gratitude
Always give God thanks for everything He’s done. When you remember the
good He’s done then glorify Him for it, His Spirit will lift you up with joy.
When we give Him thanks, it changes our hearts. Negativity casts doubt and
causes depression. But the power of positive thinking is at work in a heart of
gratitude. When you focus on being thankful for the things God has done for
you, it pushes out the negativity from your mind.

When you worship the Lord for the things He’s done, it also helps your mind
retain the memory of His goodness longer. Also, God deserves the worship,
and by meditating on the goodness of the Lord, His joy gives us strength.
When you dwell on His goodness, His Spirit overtakes you and fills you with
joy. Having a heart of gratitude increases your faith by decreasing negativity,
which casts doubt. The Spirit will lift you up and encourage you as you
meditate on Him.
Look for the Lessons God Is Teaching You Through
the Circumstances
In every aspect of life, God is always trying to teach you something. We are
called to be like Him, and He is infinite. Seeing then that we are not infinite,
we should always be growing in one way or another. We should always grow
until the Lord perfects us with our new body.

Until then, we should keep a serious eye on the lessons of today. Pray that
God will open your understanding and that you will see how He is working
around you. Pray that He will open your mind to comprehend the lessons at
hand.

Hardship happens, but when you realize that God is trying to teach you and
not torture you, it changes your heart. When you dwell on the negativity of
the situation rather than having faith, Satan will manipulate your thinking to
blame God. But we should pay attention to the lessons at hand. God loves us
above all things and does all things out of love for the sake of our growth.
Knowing this, we must focus on the lessons for today.

When we realize that God is always trying to teach us through the

circumstances around us, it suddenly opens our understanding to see that He
is in perfect control of everything. When we understand this, and that God is
controlling things behind the scenes for us to grow in faith, it gives us
opportunity to increase in faith.
Walk in Love Toward Others Even If It Means
Sacrifices
Love is the first fruit of the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we walk in the
fruits of the Spirit. Therefore when we walk in the Spirit, we ought also to
walk in love.

True loving sacrifices are ones that God leads us to do. Remember that God
provided the sacrifice for Abraham. All that you have is from God. When you
sacrifice, you’re taking what is God’s anyway and giving it back to God.

Jesus looked forward to the resurrection before His sacrifice. Before He

endured the cross, He had faith that the Father would raise Him. Likewise,
when God calls us to sacrifice, He will provide for us, and in due time, He’ll
deliver us from the circumstances. When we walk in love towards others by
obedience, we find opportunity for faith.

Faith comes by hearing the word, and a sacrifice of faith is one that God is
telling us to do. Yet faith also works hand in hand with love. If we love the
brethren, then we will take of ourselves to give to them as they have need.
We will give until the whole need is filled because true love fills all things.
God is love, and His love fills all things. If we walk in God’s love, we will
perfectly fill other’s needs. This may require sacrifice, but if God has called
you to it, He will provide. All you have is His, and perhaps He gave you
excess to give to another who needs it more. In these sacrifices, faith is
working through love. Walking in and obeying the objects of the law doesn’t
justify us but faith working through love. As we read,

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything,

but faith working through love.” Galatians 5:6

In order to increase in faith, we must take advantage of these opportunities

for faith. Do not sacrifice without God’s leading. If God tells you to do it,
then your faith is in His word, and by faith He’ll provide and deliver you
from any situations that may arise. A faithful saying is “When God guides,
He provides.”

Faith comes by hearing His word and not doing our own thing. God is not
pleased by our sacrifices outside of His word but by sacrifices made in faith.
Remember that faith comes from His word, not stepping out in something
God hasn’t called us to and hoping He’ll be pleased.

Yet we will not always hear Him tell us to sacrifice unless we seek Him and
pray for direction when trying to love others. He will speak after we seek
Him, then when we have heard His word, we can walk by faith. These
sacrifices will increase your faith.
Learn to Sit Daily in His Presence
Sitting in God’s presence daily is a must for every Christian. Although we
have the Holy Spirit and He never leaves us, we do not always meditate on
His presence as we should. If then we love the Lord, we should be seeking
His presence daily. We should be paying attention to His voice and sitting
with Him in the secret place often. This is more than just a morning or
evening devotion. This is a special time spent with God to be lifted up,
encouraged, and strengthened by His spirit. As it is written,

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

Abide in the secret place, and find Him there daily. Spend as much time with
Him as possible. Don’t keep a clock on you, but wait until God says He’s
done with you. If He wants you for an hour a day then because you’re His
beloved, you should obey. Be with Him as long as He wants you, and make
sure you set aside enough time for it. He cherishes you, and you likewise
should cherish Him. Love the Lord, and spend much time with Him.

Spending more time with God will help you understand Him better, and as a
result, He will increase your faith.
Learn to Surrender to God
Always be submissive to God’s will. Knowing His will and obeying it are
two different things. Seek His will to know and understand it. But after you
know His will, then be diligent to obey immediately. Even as it is written,

“not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in

hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;” Romans 12:11–
12

Always rejoice in the Lord, and be fervent in His Holy Spirit. Continue
steadfastly in prayer, and sit in His presence while you pray. Serve the Lord,
and surrender to Him always. Do not live according to your heart or your
own will, and do not lag in diligence, but obey Him immediately.

A good definition of diligence would be to obey even when it is not

convenient for you.
Knowing this, make it your effort to obey Him every time He speaks,
immediately when He speaks. Faith comes by hearing His word. By
submitting to His will and surrendering to Him, you are living by faith,
thereby it will increase your faith.
Listen to His Voice and Listen to His Comfort
As we stated before, faith comes by hearing His word. If you listen to His
voice, it will increase your faith because it’s giving you opportunity for faith.
But also when you listen carefully to God, He will comfort you. Especially
during trials, God will be a source of comfort for you if you listen to Him.
If you listen to thoughts of doubt, to the enemy, and to the voice of your
flesh, you will decrease in faith. But if you deny these things and listen to the
comfort of the Holy Spirit, surrender to Him, and sit in His presence, He will
increase your faith.

God is always good to increase your faith through His comforting love. There
was a time when I was struggling horribly financially and my wife was
pregnant. She was about to have the baby, and we had absolutely nothing for
the child because we were so poor.

So I prayed and I grieved before the Lord, saying, “God, I don’t have
anything for this child, and my wife is about to have the baby!” Then as I was
about to continue in prayer, God cut me off immediately and said to me,
“Isn’t it wonderful!” He was reminding me how wonderful it is to have a
child while simultaneously showing me He wasn’t worried about my
situation at all. He was reminding me that He was in full control of the
situation, and He comforted me.

God is always in control, but we can forget that through fear and fretting. Yet
if we listen to the comfort of the Lord, it immediately increases our faith. And
yes, God came through and provided everything we needed on the exact day
my baby came home. He was given so many clothes by a local church that
they lasted until he was two. God was right; “it was very wonderful,” and so
is His faithfulness!
Pray Often, Releasing the Issues of Your Heart to
God
Whenever you’re burdened, it can be difficult to continue in faith. Negativity
easily creeps up, and without release, it remains bottled inside of you. In the
end, if you do not release the issues of your heart, that negativity that is
bottled inside of you will blow up.

It is easy to become broken when we dwell upon hard things and do not hand
them over to God. The best way to increase in faith during a difficult
experience is to pray and release issues of your heart to the Lord. Then step
back and walk away from the thought of the issues while embracing the
presence of God. It may go without saying, but sometimes when we’re in
deep suffering, we forget to include God in on our burdened hearts.

God loves you with everything He is and everything He has. His love will
comfort you, encourage you, and lift you up. But being a relational God, He
will not always give you that comfort until you seek Him for it. A
relationship requires two people to come together. It is not a relationship if
only one person is pursuing the other. Pursue the Lord also, and He will lift
you up.

Run into your daddy’s arms when you’re hurt, and He’ll hold you through it
all. Pray and ask for comfort, and He will give it to you. This will increase
your faith and lift up your weary heart.
Listen Intently for Answers While You Pray
Prayer is a communication more than a supplication. Keep your spiritual ears
open while you pray. The Holy Spirit will put it in your heart what you
should pray and communicate the Father’s heart while you pray. Seeing that
faith comes by His word, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, showing you
what you should pray, then pray it.

This is what it means to pray in faith: not only to pray with faith but to pray
in the Spirit according to what the Spirit tells you to pray. When the Spirit
gives you words to pray, you’re putting your faith in the words of God that
you’re praying. Therefore pray the word of God as the Lord lays it on your
heart. Have faith in His words, and by this you will pray in faith.

Let the Holy Spirit speak to you, and listen inwardly for His answers as you
pray. God is always communicating with you in one way or another. So make
yourself sensitive to the voice of the Spirit while you pray. You’ll hear Him
speak to you, and His words will be a comfort and encouragement to you.
Praying in faith is an opportunity to increase faith.
Refuse to Accept Doubt
Satan loves to cast doubt on believers. Any time you’re being called to an act
of faith, the devil will rise up to discourage you. If God has confirmed to you
that you must step out in faith, then the best way to increase in faith is to not
give power to doubt.

Sometimes doubt presses hard and is difficult to resist. This is because Satan
is afflicting us through spiritual warfare. But if you refuse to accept doubt,
against all odds, and not listen to your own heart but step out in faith, you
will be strengthened by God in your faith. Then you’ll see God work. When
you’ve seen the work of God, it will grow your faith for the next time He
calls you to step out in faith.
Read the Word Often
When you read the word often, it gives opportunity for God to speak to you
through the pages. God is always teaching us lessons through the Scriptures.
By continuously reading, we can be continuously learning.

Any scripture God has spoken to you should be meditated on and memorized.
He will give you plenty of Scripture to encourage you and increase your
faith. The more you grow in the word of God, the more opportunity it gives
you for faith. Because faith comes by the word of God, knowing it more
intimately gives rise to a walk of greater faith and power.
Memorize Scriptures That the Lord Has Used to
Encourage You
If you’ve ever been plagued with doubt and God has encouraged you with the
Scriptures, memorize what He has shown you. Always memorize everything
the Lord speaks to you in the Scriptures. These are the lessons for today and
should be faithfully applied. You cannot faithfully apply them if you don’t
remember them from day to day, so memorize them.
When you’re going through a trial, memorize the verses God gives you to
encourage you. Then by constant memory of those encouraging verses, it will
increase your faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God,
as we know. Seeing then that faith comes from His word, the more intimately
connected we are with His word, the more faith we’ll have.
Memorize what God uses to encourage you, and dwell on the good things
God has done for you and not the negative things that are happening to you.
Dwell on the Spirit and on the faithfulness of God outlined in the Scriptures.
This will increase your faith during any hard trial.
Thank God for Opportunities of Faith
Anytime something comes your way that gives you opportunity for faith,
thank God for it. Even if it’s harsh or difficult and requires serious blind
faith, thank Him for it. As I often pray in trials, “Lord, thank you for this
opportunity to have blind faith even before you save me from my
circumstances. I put my trust in you that you will deliver me from all things!
Thank you! Be glorified in this! Thank you for an opportunity to step out in
faith and walk in righteousness. May you be glorified, Lord. Amen.”

If pray like that during your trials, it will increase your faith. This is because
you’re praying in faith that God will save you and changing your heart to
have a positive outlook on the outcome God will provide. Pray like this and
do not give power to doubt, but put your faith in the Lord that He will deliver
you.

He has never failed you! Every time He’s come through for you. It is a
beautiful thing to have faith enough to thank God for every opportunity He
gives you for faith. Then by putting your faith in Him, your heart will take
note to when He saves you. If you live by doubt, then when God delivers
you, you won’t be as grateful. Why? Because you had doubt the entire time
and thus are astonished that He even delivered you.

But your heart and your mind hold onto the memories of God’s faithfulness
longer when you have been persistent in faith. By praising Him for an
opportunity for faith, it lifts up your heart and sends you rejoicing. Do this
often, and thank Him for everything.
God Inhabits the Praises of His People, So Worship
Him in Every Circumstance of Life
No matter what happens, always worship God in every circumstance of life.
Yes, we should thank Him for every opportunity for faith, but we should also
worship Him in every opportunity He gives us. No matter how difficult or
how trying it is, God should be glorified in all things. Even Job remained
faithful in all of his hardship. Even as it is written after Job lost his children
and everything,

“Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground
and worshiped. And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And
naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.’” Job 1:20–21

God loves a truly righteous heart. Worship Him even in the most difficult
times, and His Holy Spirit will lift you up. His joy will overcome you, and
your sorrow will turn to praise. By this we’re turning pain into praise and
increasing our faith through the joy of the Lord. True praise that comes from
the heart leads to a greater walk of faith.
 I’d Love To Hear From You!
As an author I regard the feedback of my readers highly. When considering a
book many people weigh reviews in the balance.
If you enjoyed this book please consider helping others make an informed
decision. Leaving a review can help spread the message of the gospel,
increase other’s faith through these books, and would be a great way to
support this ministry for free!
If you’d like to leave a review just click the link:
 Also By Adam Houge
Adam Houge has over 60 titles on the Christian faith. You can search through
them on his Amazon author page located on the following link:
ADAM HOUGE’S AUTHOR PAGE

Otherwise the following is a list of his top titles which may interest you:
The 7 Most Powerful Prayers That Will Change Your Life Forever

The 7 Spiritual Habits That Will Change Your Life Forever

How To Memorize The Bible Quick And Easy In 5 Simple Steps
Choosing Words That Heal
I Know That God Is Good But Why Am I Hurting So Much?
Miracles That Inspire
 About The Author
Adam is a preacher, teacher and Christian author. He is a devoted husband
and father of 3 boys. Through His travels he’s seen the need for a new
awakening and a new revival: A revival of the heart. Come join Adam on this
journey of redemption and experience God like never before!
 Table of Contents
Introduction. 1
The Basics. 1
Know Your Bible. 1
The Best Method. 1
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?. 1
Applying the Method. 1
Final Thoughts. 1
Tricks That Work. 1
Read First To Understand The Scriptures. 1
Memorize What Speaks Out To You. 1
Stick To One Translation. 1
Get It Right The First Time. 1
Chunk It! 1
Memorize The New And Interesting. 1
Say It Out Loud. 1
Use Audio Bible For Auditory Learners. 1
Say It Without Looking At The Pages. 1
Get Comfortable. 1
Get Up And Move Around. 1
Focus. 1
Remove Distractions. 1
Use It Or Lose It. 1
Memorize The Verse Before Being Concerned With Its Location. 1
Visualize The Words. 1
Pick The Best Time Of Day. 1
Pray. 1
Worship First. 1
Lean On The Holy Spirit. 1
Test Yourself. 1
Only Memorize Verses You Intend To Use. 1
Do Not Memorize And Work At The Same Time. 1
Do Not Be Disheartened. 1
Press Hard To Focus. 1
Stop When You Can’t Focus Anymore. 1
How To Get The Most From Reading Your Bible. 1
Pray And Let God Speak To You. 1
Incline Your Ear. 1
Write And Meditate On What God Says 1
Memorize The Words He Speaks In The Bible And Not Just Any Scripture. 1
Carry The Words With You. 1
How To Increase Your Faith Beyond The Mustard Seed. 1
Believe That God Loves You. 1
Believe That God Does All Things out of Love for Your Good. 1
Stop Worrying. 1
Learn to Depend on God for Everything. 1
Seek God’s Will for Your Life. 1
Learn to Listen to His Voice. 1
Forsake Your Own Judgment and Wisdom to Follow the Voice of God. 1
Learn to Be Patient With God. 1
Dwell on How He Has Been Faithful 1
Have a Heart of Gratitude. 1
Look for the Lessons God Is Teaching You Through the Circumstances. 1
Walk in Love Toward Others Even If It Means Sacrifices. 1
Learn to Sit Daily in His Presence. 1
Learn to Surrender to God. 1
Listen to His Voice and Listen to His Comfort. 1
Pray Often, Releasing the Issues of Your Heart to God. 1
Listen Intently for Answers While You Pray. 1
Refuse to Accept Doubt. 1
Read the Word Often. 1
Memorize Scriptures That the Lord Has Used to Encourage You. 1
Thank God for Opportunities of Faith. 1
God Inhabits the Praises of His People, So Worship Him in Every
Circumstance of Life. 1
I’d Love To Hear From You! 1
Also By Adam Houge. 1
About The Author. 1