Do no let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. —Josh. 1:8

1. Make meditation on Scripture, not memorization, your final goal. Meditation is the process of “chewing over” passages of Scripture mentally. Use memorization to internalize Scripture so that you can continually see events of your daily life in light of Scripture, and see Scripture in new light through events in your daily life. Ask questions of your passage, personalize it and visualize it.

2. Use oral-aural learning. Speak memory verses out loud sometimes. Say them with expression, as if you were trying to convey the meaning to a listener.

3. Share what you are learning with others.

4. Cooperate with others for accountability and support. “Two are better than one, . . . a cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecc. 4:9,12).”

5. Capture time blocks for memorization/meditation. It is important to schedule some time in the day to work on memorization, but learn especially to capture stray time slots (e.g., waiting in line, or for an appointment) and harness them to this purpose.

6. Try memorizing in paragraphs. There are several advantages to memorizing in paragraphs, sections, or chapters rather than verses: 1) The Bible was written that way, 2) It is much easier to memorize ten verses in sequence than ten separate verses, and 3) The verses are preserved in context, which is crucial to the meaning.

7. Try memory cards with the first letter of every word. Carry it with you at all times. This provides a useful “prompting” step between not knowing it (having to read it off the page) and having it completely memorized.

8. To retain a passage, take time to memorize it well, and review it frequently. Do not let yourself memorize a passage loosely; memorize word for word. Take an extra week if you need to. Don’t “cram” at the last minute to appear to have a passage memorized—it won’t last. The first key to retention is to memorize a passage so well that it seems like your mouth can do it alone without the help of your mind! The second key is to review it frequently—daily for a few days, weekly for a few weeks, then periodically. The third key is to allow the passage to change you significantly. The memory cards mentioned above are excellent for review since you can check yourself without reading the words.  

Note: Memorizing and meditating on Scripture is an extremely profitable exercise even if the memorized portion is not retained, or even if you do not even have a goal of retaining it over the long run. Make Spirit-illuminated meditation your main goal.