13 Creative Tips To Memorize Psalms (& Why You Should)!
How To Memorize Psalms (& Why You Should)!
Being able to recite Bible verses from memory is beneficial for a number of reasons. Besides bringing you closer to God, having his word written on your heart will help not only you but those around you.
Having specific verses to share with others in their time of need may be the healing that a friend or stranger needs in that moment.
Do you like the thought of being able to memorize scripture so that you can share its healing message with others but feel intimidated by the thought of this daunting task?
Don’t worry. Memorizing scripture may not be as hard as you think.
Writing God‘s word on our hearts is very important as you know. But how do we do it? My suggestion is to start by memorizing psalms.
And I’ll be sure to share with you why I recommend that, how to do it, and where to get a free Bible journal (printable and digital) to help make memorizing scripture that much easier.
Let’s get right to it!
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about and from companies that I trust like Amazon and others. Please let me know if you have any questions.
– Why memorize Psalms?
You might be wondering why I recommend memorizing Psalms? Well for one the Psalms are beautiful. Psalms are also rhythmic which makes sense given their definition: a sacred song or hymn, in particular any of those contained in the biblical Book of Psalms and used in Christian and Jewish worship.
I don’t know about you but I know for me memorizing songs is so much easier than memorizing words with no melody or cadence.
Not only that but many Psalms are easy to visualize making them that much easier to memorize. Just think about the 23rd song for a second. “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.” These statements conjure up beautiful images that make them easy to remember.
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– How To Memorize Psalms (13 Epic Tips You Have To Read)!
1) Clear Your Mind
To memorize a verse more easily, start by clearing your mind. Clearing your head and focusing can help you absorb what you need to learn.
2) Decide how much time to spend memorizing.
Next, decide how much time you want to devote to memorizing Psalms. You might want to just spend five minutes a day or you may want to spend an hour.
It’s totally up to you. It also depends on how quickly you want to learn the Scriptures. If you’re trying to learn it for a specific purpose like maybe a Bible memorization challenge or some sort of competition then you definitely will need to spend more than five minutes.
But if you want to memorize scripture for your own edification then 10 minutes may be all the time you need.
3) Choose Your Verses
OK so now we’re getting to the good part. Which verses do you want to memorize? It might be that you want to start with chapter 1 and go all the way to the end of the book. Or you might have favorite chapters that really speak to you and you want to be able to recall them at any moment.
You can memorize a line, a passage, an entire chapter, or even the whole book. Man wouldn’t that be awesome to memorize the entire book of Psalms?!
4) Write The Psalms In A Journal (Over & Over)
Writing down information repeatedly is a great method to retain it, especially for visual and hands-on learners.
You could use a journal or a journaling printable to create a space for you to memorize your chosen Psalms. You can use my free Bible journaling printable (that I’ll tell you more about later) to help enhance your scripture memorization sessions.
Write one verse down repeatedly. Every fifteen minutes, just write it down again and again. Feel free to pause occasionally to see if you can recall what you’ve written. . It’s also better to write with pen and paper than to type it.
5) Recite The Verses Throughout The Day
This tip might seem obvious but it must be said. In order to truly memorize these scriptures, you have to recite the verses out loud and often. Do it during random times of the day. If you have a long commute you can start speaking the verses you are working on at that time. Other times you might want to recite your chosen Psalms would be while showering or while cooking.
6) Record Yourself Saying The Scriptures
Furthermore, speaking and hearing are superior for auditory and verbal learners, so make use of your phone to record and repeat a verse.
If you’re anything like me you don’t like hearing the sound of your own voice. But don’t worry. You’ll become accustomed to your recorded voice after a bit.
7) Make Flashcards
Make Bible verse flashcards to help you memorize them. You can create flashcards the old fashion way with some index cards. Or you can be high-tech and use an app like Anki. What you could do is write out the scripture fully on one card.
Then on the next card, you could write part of the scripture but leave some of the words out so you’ll have to remember them. With each additional card leave more and more of the words out until you get to a card that only has the name of the book, the chapter, and the verse.
You want to get to a point where you don’t need any assistance at all. And then the next point I’m going to share another way you can use your flashcards.
8) Draw Pictures On Your Flashcards
The method is simple: if you wish to remember the verse, envisage that image while you’re recalling it and draw that image to make it even more effective. You can doodle the words on your flashcards or even use a picture in place of a word.
For instance, Psalm 1:1 says “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked”. Instead of writing the word walk on your flash card, you could draw a stick figure walking.
Hopefully, that makes sense. Using that visual imagery will make recalling this versa so much easier.
9) Just hum a merry tune
Am I the only one who can recall the lyrics to a song that they haven’t heard in 20 years? I am sure I’m not alone in this. It is scientifically proven that words said to music stick (source) in our brains for years and years to come.
So why not make a little music of your own by creating a melody to the songs you were memorizing? I’m not asking you to write a masterpiece. I’m just talking about a silly little melody that will make it easier for you to remember these verses.
You can even take a Psalm and sing it in the melody of a song you already know.
10) Close your eyes
One method that I find that really works is this… Read the line then close your eyes and repeat it over and over. Then open your eyes and read it again. Repeat this process over and over again until that line sticks in your mind. It’ll almost become effortless to remember it.
11) Slowly build one line at a time
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to memorize too much at one time. If you want to just learn one line per week so that you know it’s really cemented in your mind then go for it. The point is to make sure you remember it.
It is better to know one passage of scripture forever than to try to memorize entire chapters but forget it in one week.
12) Stack All Of These Methods
Try combining all of these methods at the same time. Speak the verse while writing it down to increase your chances of retaining the information. Recording and writing it down at the same time will engage all of your senses and will speed up the process. You can also associate a specific verse with a specific visual image, which will help you remember it better if you’re a visual learner.
13) Leave Reminders Everywhere
You can leave yourself reminders in order to remember verses. These little notes might be posted on sticky notes or index cards and left in areas that you frequent. Leave notes on your bedside table, visor in your automobile, refrigerator, and office desk.
You will notice these notes frequently because they will be in the same location. You can also use dry erase markers on your bathroom mirrors to write down the verse of the day or week and recite it every time you go to the bathroom.
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Conclusion
What’s your favourite bible verse? Would you like to share your best memorization techniques? I would love to hear them in the comments!
And be sure to read below so you can see how you can get a free Bible journaling printable and digital Bible journal that you can use to help you memorize all the scriptures you want!
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