Why you really need to memorize Bible verses

Recently, the Reformed theologian stressed the need for Christians to memorize the scriptures while responding to a question on how to preserve joy in God during an episode of the podcast "Ask Pastor John" on DesiringGod.com.

Piper, who is also the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, said that scripture memorization is a great way to attack the "demonic temptations to discouragement."

He said, "The value of memorizing for me is that my mind can take that phrase that comes to my mind and put it in place with the sentences before and after it so that I can properly say it, grasp it, preach it to myself for the sake of my joy."

The popular theologian further explained: "Our flesh and the devil are active all day long to draw us into pleasures that are anti-God. If we have no strategies for awakening and cultivating and preserving and intensifying our joy in God, we will be drawn away by our flesh and the devil into alternative pleasures, which are, as Paul said, idolatry (Colossians 3:5)."

In a 2006 article titled: 'Why Memorize Scripture?', Piper noted that memorizing the scripture improves our relationship with God as we understand him better when we spend time reflecting on His word.

"Most of us are emotionally crippled - all of us, really. We do not experience God in the fullness of our emotional potential," he said. "How will that change? One way is to memorize the emotional expressions of the Bible and speak them to the Lord and to each other until they become part of who we are."

"For example, in Psalm 103:1, we say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name!' That is not a natural expression for many people," he continued. "But if we memorize this and other emotional expressions from the Bible, and say them often, asking the Lord to make the emotion real in our hearts, we can actually grow into that emotion and expression. It will become part of who we are. We will be less emotionally crippled and more able to render proper praise and thanks to God."

ALSO READ: 7 important Bible verses you need to memorize in 2018

How to memorize the Bible

Know that we have understood the need to commit to the scriptures to memory, here is how you can accomplish this task.

Piper recommends choosing certain verses to "preach to yourself" throughout the day. His advise: "Set yourself a reminder on your phone to go ding every hour or buzz on your wrist to tell you to pull out that sword from your morning reading, say it to yourself, preach it to yourself, and tell Jesus thank you for it and that you really believe it."

You don't just need to preach it, you also need to believe what the verse (s) say.

He said, "Tell the devil you believe it. Tell the devil that this is blood-bought truth from the Bible, and they're all blood-bought for Christians. Tell the devil that this truth is more precious to you than anything this devil has to offer."

After preaching and believing these verses, you need to ensure that you are using the scripture in the right context.

"Then you have to tell your mind to set it in context so you understand it rightly. Then you have to preach it to yourself and against the evil one. This is how you wield the sword of the Spirit, and slay the demonic temptations to discouragement, and feed the fires of joy in Jesus," he concluded.

Remember, our "battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So, make sure you have "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" stored in your heart. (See Ephesians 6:10-17)