By His Wounds

Scripture memorization should be an important part in our christian life but yet so many claim to be too busy.  I hear this excuse from time to time from the children I work with at church.  I have to be honest, I was not an avid memorizer  until I started working with my daughter on memorization when she was around 2 or 3.  But we have made it an important part of our daily routine.  Before I started homeschooling, we worked on verses on the way to school in the morning or before bedtime.  We didn’t spend nor do we now, spend hours working on verses and catechisms.  We are currently learning one baptist catechism per week and two to five verses per week, depending on the verse.  We have been using the Foundation Verse pack from Children Desiring God and will soon move to the Fighter Verses.  The Fighter Verses came with a handbook that outlines the why, who, how and other useful information.  Here are a few why’s from the handbook:

Children have amazing memories.  Children memorize easily.  In fact, they often memorize effortlessly.  Since memorization is so easy for them, they are memorizing constantly.  They will memorize either what the world has to offer them or what we have to offer them.  Why not take advantage of this God-given gift for the benefit of our children’s spiritual growth?  This window of opportunity is open for about twelve years.  After age twelve, memorization is harder – unless a child has been trained in the habit of memorization.

What is learned in childhood is often retained for a lifetime.  It is so much harder for adults to memorize scripture than children.  We often feel handicapped because we do not have more scripture memorized.  For many adults, the verses they know well are verses learned in childhood.

Memorizing scripture provides children with an ever-present counselor and protector.  We cannot always be with our children.  If the word of God dwells richly in them, they have wise counsel with them at all times.  In addition, God’s word is so much more powerful than our words; it will protect them from the attack of the enemy.

Memorizing scripture makes application and response to the word more likely.  Situations arise in all of our lives which either demonstrate a spiritual truth or demand a word of Biblical counsel.  Often in those situations, the Holy Spirit brings to mind a verse you have memorized.  This is less likely to happen when we have memorized only a few verses.  When we recognize a Biblical truth demonstrated in a situation, it is often impressed on our hearts, and a heartfelt godly response in more likely to occur.  That response can come in the form of appropriate behavior, correct attitudes, or in worship of God as we are awed with the truth of His word.

Children learn by example.  They learn to talk by repeating what they hear.  They learn how to treat others by watching how we treat others.  They will learn to value God’s Word and make it a priority in their lives if they see us making it a priority in our own lives.  Prepare yourself and your child by suiting them up in the Armor of God!