Memorizing Scripture With My Kids: A Simple Approach
Keeping it simple with Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. —Psalm 19:1
I’ve always believed in Scripture memory, but for a long time I didn’t have a clear plan for doing it with my kids. This year, we decided to memorize Psalm 19 together—and it’s been more life-giving than I expected. Here’s what we’ve been doing.
Step 1: Choose a passage to memorize. Psalm 19 is one of my favorites. It’s written in two main parts. The first part, verses 1-6, describes how Creation is continually proclaiming the glory of God. The second part, verses 7-13, is a song about the perfect beauty of God’s Word, the Bible. I’ve heard it said that God has written two great books, the book of nature and the book of Scripture. King David, the author of Psalm 19, would agree!
Step 2: Choose a Bible translation. We chose the ESV. Usually, I’ll read the NLT or NIV with my kids because those versions are a little easier to understand. But the ESV’s slightly more formal wording is actually better for memorizing because it’s just enough different from everyday speech to stick in your mind, yet modern enough to be understandable.
Step 3: Repeat, repeat, repeat. We read it aloud together. One reads while the others repeat. We read and then try to recite smaller portions without reading. And we go over it night after night. Memorizing anything takes consistency and practice!
Step 4: Talk about what it means. My kids could learn to repeat words and phrases without understanding them. But what good would that be? I’ve found that all of us more easily remember the verses when we understand what we’re memorizing. So, we talk about it. What is this verse or stanza about? What does it mean? What is it teaching us about God, or his Word, or ourselves, or others, or the world around us?
Step 5: Pray from the passage. Like step 4, we are more likely to remember a verse we’ve prayed through. Given that the first half of Psalm 19 is all about the sky and the sun proclaiming God’s glory, we’ve been praying a lot lately about Creation. We’ve thanked God for creating a wonderful world for us to live in. We’ve praised God for the beauty we enjoy (and often take for granted) everyday. We’ve asked God to give us wisdom to be good stewards of the earth. We’ve prayed for our extended family who farm. It’s amazing how a few verses can spark so much prayer!
Have you ever given Scripture memorization a try? It’s a great habit to start—especially with kids!