Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.

Read

Reflect

In the age of cell phones, memorization is no longer a priority; not only is it not a priority, but it is discouraged in many ways because people say something like, “memorizing isn’t learning.” In one sense, it is true, but in another, there is no way to learn without memorization. Examples can be found in magazine articles titled “When Memory Gets in the Way of Learning” (The Atlantic) or “Is memorization Bad for Learning?” (Psychology Today).

So when I read in the Bible these passages about meditating on Scripture day and night or my time in Bible College when scripture memorization was a priority, I wondered if it were wrong. Well, here is the answer I have decided is correct. Memorization isn’t learning in the classical sense but is a building block of learning. Memorizing scripture builds a frame to build your learning around. I think of it like scaffolding when a building is being built or remolded.

Another way to think about it was when Paul wrote in Romans, do not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. A pattern is a scaffolding. When you have the patterns of this world, you think about everything through that pattern. You will think about power, money, love, and other things in the same way the world thinks about these things, but when you memorize scripture, you already have a preexisting pattern to think about these things.

So, I encourage everyone to practice meditating on scripture day and night. It will create a pattern in your mind which will allow you to be successful wherever you go.

Pray

God, let me not only read or hear your word but inwardly digest it. Amen

Go with God.