I make it a priority to memorize Bible verses, but when my oldest child reached a point where she was old enough to begin memorizing verses, I wondered if pushing her to do so was right. After all, kids are just kids. They should be playing, exploring, and having fun. Did sitting her down and making her recite Bible verses take away from these more age-appropriate activities?
As I gave some thought to this, I realized that there were a couple of significant errors in my thinking. First, memorizing Bible verses and fun aren’t mutually exclusive. There are lots of ways to make Scripture memorization an engaging and exciting activity! Second, as a Christian parent, it is just as important for me to see to my kids’ spiritual development as it is for me to see to their physical, intellectual, and social development. It would actually be remiss of me to ignore opportunities to help them memorize Bible verses and to explain to them how these apply to their lives.
Once I thought through all of this, I realized that there are numerous benefits to helping kids memorize Bible verses. Here are 5 of these benefits.
Why it’s important for kids to memorize Scripture
They’ll be armed with the Word of God when they need it
Our kids won’t always have a Bible available when they face difficult situations. However, if we’ve helped them memorize verses, then they’ll have these verses available at all times. This will help them avoid sin (Psalm 119:11), take the right paths (Psalm 119:105), prosper (Psalm 1:1-3), and know how to encourage others (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Most importantly, the words of Scripture tell them what they must do to be saved (Romans 10:9)!
Before I move on, I want to assure you that this sort of practical application isn’t hypothetical. Kids can really do this. One day we were headed down a dark, noisy hallway and my 3-year-old was a little afraid. She grabbed my hand and said the following:
“You know what the Bible says about being afraid? ‘When I am afraid, I will trust in you.’ We can trust Jesus when we are afraid.”
If you’re not familiar with that verse, it is Psalm 56:3. At just 3 years of age, my oldest daughter was able to take a verse we had memorized while sitting at home and apply it to a difficult situation we encountered while out and about. Just imagine how she will be able to apply other verses as she continues to grow and learn!
They can memorize verses easily
Scripture memorization can be daunting for adults because it takes a lot of effort for us to memorize things. This isn’t the case with kids. Children, particularly young children, have brains that are like sponges—they absorb effortlessly. As long as we put verses before them, they’ll learn the verses. We should take advantage of this precious time period where our kids can easily commit scores of verses to memory.
The verses they memorize stay with them for their whole lives
Do you know the words to Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star? Even if you haven’t sung these songs recently, it’s quite likely you know the words to these popular nursery rhymes. Isn’t it interesting that these words you learned decades ago are so deeply ingrained in your mind that you still remember them?
This same thing happens when we teach Bible verses to our kids. If we repeat them often enough, then they become ingrained in our kids’ minds. They’ll never forget them. Through their teen and adult years they will be able to recall the words to the verses whenever they need them.
Knowing Bible verses helps them connect with what they hear at church
During a Bible study we attended weeks ago, the lesson centered on John 3:16. When the leader mentioned the verse, my 3-year-old proceeded to recite it. She remained alert and focused throughout the lesson because it held special relevance to her—it related to something she had learned about already!
This may not seem very exciting to us, but it’s a big deal to young kids. When they sit down for a Sunday school lesson or listen to a sermon and the topic is something with which they are familiar, they’re immediately able to connect with what is being said. They feel like they are “in the know” and they’ll often pay closer attention. The more Bible verses we teach them, the more they’ll be able to connect with teachings in church and Bible studies.
The verses they memorize are like seeds planted in their hearts
The single most important reason to help our kids memorize Bible verses is so that they will know God and know what they must do to be saved. We can’t make the choice to follow God for them, but helping them memorize Scripture is one way we can plant seeds deep in their hearts.
Many of the verses I’ve helped my girls memorize are verses that share crucial truths about God and salvation (Romans 10:9, John 14:6, Matthew 22:37-40, etc.). I can trust that God will use these truths to help reveal Himself to them. If my husband and I are faithful to teach the Word of God to our kids and model for them how they should live (even though the example we set is highly imperfect), then we can trust that God will capture the hearts of our children.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Stay tuned
Next week I will share a tool we’ve been using to memorize Bible verses. I say “we’ve been using” (not “they’ve been using”), because I’ve been memorizing new verses right alongside them! You won’t want to miss this! If you’d like some ideas in the meanwhile, check out my Memorizing Scripture board on Pinterest.
I’d love to hear about your experiences! How have your kids benefited from memorizing Bible verses?
I love this, and that story about your daughter is so adorable 🙂 Memorizing Scripture is so powerful-I have to confess that I used to memorize verses quite a bit, but in the past couple years have fallen out of the practice of regular memorization. I do try to pray the Psalms semi-regularly (there’s something that Catholics worldwide pray called the Liturgy of the Hours, which is sets of psalms and other Scripture readings set on a 4-week cycle), and since I keep going back to certain psalms as the cycle repeats, that’s helped me to memorize parts more-I often pray several verses from Psalm 63 silently towards the end of Mass, it’s a nice way for me to reflect. But I really need to get back into more regular memorization again, so thank you for this post!!!
I love when my girls are able to apply Bible verses like that…it really challenges me to do the same!
I imagine it would be super helpful to pray the same Psalms (and other verses) in cycles. I especially like that the Liturgy of the Hours helps you pray throughout the day (this is something I often struggle with).
It really is handy, a great way to sanctify all the hours of the day. Most people only pray Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer (or, in my case, only one of those sets!) but there’s also sets of prayers throughout the day-it’s very similar to what you read about in the Gospels when Jesus and the Apostles, as Jews, would go pray the Psalms at specific periods throughout the day.
Its so true! Kids learn everything very quickly!
What a teaching and encouragement.
I have been reminded several times of verses by my daughter,when I had forgotten the verses.
It gives confidence and assurance as a parent ,that your child will always return to God,when life happens to them in their future life..
I will surely find means of teaching other parents about these vital tools.
Thanks for sharing and please do send more..I love it..
Tione
It’s so important that we get these truths into their hearts while they are young, isn’t it?