"Probably the hardest time I have had while memorizing was when I qualified for the National Bible Bee competition last year (2013). It was the first time I have ever qualified, and I was quite discouraged with the 750 Bible verses, about 60 of those passages from Genesis and Exodus. But over time, with God's help and strength and the encouragement of many friends and family members, I was able to almost get all of them perfect. :) The most important thing I learned from that memorizing journey was to recognize that God is the source of any strength and memorizing energy I have. I must be in prayer and asking Him for His help, checking my motives and seeking to grow closer to Him or my efforts will be in vain. It is very easy to become self-focused, prideful, and derailed from the true reasons for memorizing. I have found that praying before I memorize helps my motives to be better." ~Hannah, 18
"The issue for me is not memorizing, but keeping up what I've memorized. Also, head knowledge without a heart resonance is a big trap that I've fallen into many times. It leads to major pride: "I know all this..." "I can quote the entirety of this chapter or this book..." Ugghh! Instead of just knowing a verse word perfect, I have to say, "What can I learn? What does God mean? What is He trying to teach? I need to know this verse so that I can know God." Praying through prayers that I've memorized is a big help in getting the words in my heart. Whether your memorizing prayers or genealogies, never, never, never forget to pray. That should be the impetus behind your knowledge of the Bible." ~Audrey, 16
"Sometimes I get behind on reviewing verses; they just build up until I have so many to review that it is really discouraging to think about it. Because of this, there have been a couple times I took a really long "break" from memorizing. But God is faithful and when He sees that the time is right He encourages me through other peoples' testimonies, through reading the Bible, through sermons, or other mediums to get back to memorizing. Lately He's been showing me a more practical side of memorization--being able to use promises of the Bible in praying for people--which has kept me motivated so that the review doesn't pile up." ~Rachelle, 23
"Mainly, not getting burned out and tired of memorizing. It can get routine at times. When I get bored, God shows me a passage that I really need to read and memorize. Also, time is a huge issue. In this modern world, people always want to do things and go places. It is difficult to set aside large quantities of time to study God's Word. But when you think about it, it is God's time. Because it belongs to Him, I am actually setting aside time for other things beside Him. This reversal of views encourages me to memorize more." ~Allison (not me :P), 14
"I often get distracted while memorizing — sometimes through outward distractions, like noisy siblings :), or internal ones, like wandering thoughts. God always showed me when I was getting of course, though, and He gave me the strength and desire to get back on track. I also faced laziness — I would keep putting off memorizing — but once again, God gave me the desire. This is why it's so important to ask Him for help and commit the memorization process to Him at the beginning and throughout the journey, because only He can help you through the troubles. It's all and only His power." ~Aberdeen Livingstone, 15
"One thing I continually fight against is pride. It's so easy to fall into thinking you are so much better just because you know a lot of verses. But God keeps reminding me that Scripture memory is not about comparing myself to others - it's about my relationship with Him. The verses I memorize are first and foremost for drawing me closer to Him, and for applying to my life. Another thing I have struggled with is not wanting to memorize verses - I guess you would call it just being burned out. But when that happens, it helps to open the Word of God and read it slowly and carefully, forcing myself to take in each word rather than skimming. And as I have done that, each time the Lord renewed my desire to memorize, and even gave me an excitement and awe of Him as I began again." ~Lisa, 22
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