How To Memorize The Bible Fast And

Easy™
Copyright © 2013 by Adam Houge
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How To Memorize The Bible Fast And Easy
™ By Adam Houge
Scripture taken from the New King James
Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
 Also By Adam Houge
How To Memorize The Bible Quick And
Easy In 5 Simple Steps
(Five easy to practice steps that will help
you memorize more scripture than you
ever thought possible)
How To Memorize The Entire Bible In No
Time Flat
(Learning to memorize through the power
of the Holy Spirit)
Cherishing The Heart Of A Child
(Embracing our children in the love of
Christ)
The 7 Spiritual Habits The Will Change
Your life Forever
(The 7 habits that lead to a life changing
relationship in Christ)
The 21 Most Powerful Prayers That Will
Change Your Life Forever
(A prayer devotional with 21 of the
greatest and most life changing prayers)
7 Powerful Prayers For The Joy Of The Lord
(A one week study and prayer devotional
to experience a greater sense of God’s
joy.)
 Table of Contents
Introduction
The Basics
Know Your Bible
The Best Method
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?
Applying the Method
Final Thoughts
I’d Love To Hear From You
Also By Adam Houge
About the Author
 Introduction
Welcome to the life changing rewards of Scripture
memorization! After this challenging course, you’ll be
changed down to the core because you will understand your
Bible like never before. When you increase your
understanding of God’s word, it changes how you think, act,
walk, and breathe. His word dictates how He wants us to
live, and the more we understand how to apply our Bibles,
the more like Jesus we become. But prepare yourself for the
work that lies ahead. There is always work associated with
memorizing, but the rewards of knowing God’s word are
infinite.
I believe that every Christian should know the word of God
by heart. How can you practice the word unless it’s locked in
your heart? How can you lock the Scriptures in your heart
unless you memorize them? This is not a call to be vainly
religious by impressing people with a bunch of Scriptures.
This is a call to know your Bible for your own personal walk.
I have personally memorized many books in the Bible word
for word. I am convinced that any Christian can memorize
dozens of books and recall them word for word flawlessly,
just as I have. In this book, I will be teaching you the method
that I have used to memorize so much Scripture.
It is an easy-to-follow formula that does require a little elbow
grease. But after you’re done, your sword will be sharper
that you ever thought possible.
 The Basics
We know that God commands us to apply His word and be
found faithfully walking in it. How can we apply it unless it’s
locked in our hearts? Thus we know that God also
commands us to retain His word in our hearts. It is
necessary for each of us to memorize. But how do we know
God wants us to memorize His Bible? Does He truly
command us to memorize? I believe He does, which is why
it is written,
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed
according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought
You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your
word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against
You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With
my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I
have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in
all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate
Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not
forget Your word.” Psalm 119:9–16
It’s clear that God calls us not to forget His word. How can
we remember unless we memorize? What is sin? To depart
from the ways of God. How shall we keep from going off
course if His word, which establishes His will, isn’t bound in
our hearts? Hence we are also called to meditate on the
Scriptures always. As it is also written,
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the
seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a
tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit
in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever
he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1–3
We must meditate day and night on the Lord’s word—both
what His Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts and the
Scriptures. But that God wants us to bind His word in our
hearts is evident. For we read,
“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my
sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them
in the midst of your heart;” Proverbs 4:20–21
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask
what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My
Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be
My disciples.” John 15:7–8
In order to bear the fruit of God, His words must abide in us.
How can they abide unless we memorize them and meditate
on them continually? The word “abide” in this Scripture is
“meno” in the original Greek. Meno means to abide, to
dwell, or to continue in the presence or concept of. Thus is it
more than obvious that God is calling us to both dwell in and
continue in His word daily. But does God really want His
word to dwell in us? As it is written,
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts
to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
Let His word dwell in you. Be established in it, and meditate
upon it that you can rightly apply it. Even as it is also
written,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
We must rightly divide the Scriptures and know His doctrine
perfectly so that we will know how to apply it. Yet we could
never apply His word unless we remember it for application,
which is why it is also written,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately
forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the
perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a
forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be
blessed in what he does.” James 1:22–25
Don’t merely read God’s word. Study it, know it, meditate on
it, and memorize it so you can practice it. Even as God
commanded Joshua, so He commands each of us. As we
read,
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but
you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe
to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success.” Joshua 1:8
The book of the law was the only written word of God in
Joshua’s time. Now we have the law of liberty, which is the
law of Christ. We know that we fulfill this law through the
Holy Spirit as we practice God’s love. But we still are
required to meditate on and memorize His word that we can
know what the love of God looks like. How can we apply
something if we don’t know how it works? If a person
doesn’t know how to operate a factory machine, how can
they manufacture anything? Likewise, if we don’t know the
word of God, we cannot produce the fruit of righteousness.
Faith may not always require knowledge, but it always
requires understanding. We don’t always know how a
circumstance will turn out when we put our faith in God, but
if we understand the character and nature of His love, we
will understand that He will work everything together for
good.
Now, some may argue that it is not necessary to memorize
so much Scripture. But we cannot practice God’s will unless
we understand it perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with
memorizing this amount of Scripture if you intend to use it
for your own personal walk. But if anyone wants to use the
Scripture to show off and impress others, then they’ll vainly
puff themselves up. Even as it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
If we love one another, we will edify each other with the
word of God. There is nothing wrong with understanding the
Scriptures in the deepest sense and using that knowledge to
edify the brethren. In the days of Paul, Bibles were not as
abundant as they are now. Many Christians had to memorize
entire books so that they could carry the words with them in
their heart. It began with the oral tradition of the Pharisees,
who believed that the fathers before Moses passed down
the traditions orally. These were the traditions that Moses
wrote about. So it became a part of the Jewish tradition to
both read and orally share the word of God. Today Christians
have become so dependent on their Bibles that many could
not discern Scripture without having a Bible in hand.
Imagine going to a foreign country to share the word of God
where a Bible is not permitted. How can you teach anyone
from the Scriptures unless you smuggle a Bible in? It sounds
noble to smuggle Bibles, but there’s nothing wrong with
smuggling it in through having it bound in your heart. Those
that live in hostile countries tend to memorize more
Scripture because a Bible is hard to find. So it means more
to them than it does to us. But God’s word should mean
everything to us!
It is impossible to study a vast amount of Scripture without
having the right heart. It is easy to be complacent and ask
such questions as “Why do I need to memorize so much?
Where can I find time to do that? How is it even possible to
memorize so much?”
Now let’s answer these questions one by one. We have
already addressed why we need to memorize so much. How
can we find time? Simple. If we love the Lord, we will make
time to put Him first. Even as it is written,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Seek God’s kingdom first, and worry about the rest later.
Make time for God because He’s more important. If you
don’t have time, then make the time and be diligent to
study your Bible. Memorize it faithfully. You will never
memorize it unless you make a commitment to do it. This
commitment requires a disciplined heart. You must be self-
disciplined and force yourself to do it. It’s easy to become
complacent with all the distractions around us. It’s easy to
desire entertainment over education. But let each of us be
educated in the things of Christ and simpleminded in the
fleshly entertainment and sin of this world.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with being entertained. But if it
gets in the way of a relationship with God, then it has to be
set aside. If one cannot set it aside, then they have an idol.
Most people would have at least an extra hour or two per
day if they put aside entertainment. Consider yourself. How
much time can you make for God? Doesn’t He deserve the
time from you? Be diligent to memorize His word today.
If you need to, make an agreement with yourself and your
family. Write it up on a piece of paper and sign it if you need
to, but ask your family to keep you accountable. If they see
you being idle, they can encourage you to seek the Lord.
I have heard one memory expert tell Christians to make a
covenant with God on paper and sign it. In the covenant,
they claim that a person should come up with a date on
which you guarantee God that you will completely memorize
the particular book. This person says that it makes a person
very serious about memorizing the word of God and keeping
to it. While we must take memorizing His word seriously, I
question the expert who said that. This man claimed to have
memorized dozens of books from the Bible word for word,
including the book of Matthew. If he truly memorized so
much, then how did he miss the scripture that says,
“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for
it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor
by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall
you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair
white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’
‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:34–37
God makes it clear to never make an oath. God makes the
covenants, and we are called to believe them. Let your yes
be yes and no be no. Show your fervent heart by being
committed but only within a biblical context. It doesn’t do
anyone any good to memorize a mess of scriptures and then
end up having no idea how to apply them, which was the
case for that memory expert.
Nevertheless, we should be committed to seeking the Lord
and understanding His word. God is pleased by those who
diligently seek Him. Even as we read,
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be found faithfully seeking God. Diligence is
best defined as faithfully doing something when it is least
convenient. If it is difficult for you to memorize Scripture due
to a time constraint, then consider when you are most
mentally alert and make time during that part of the day.
God deserves our time. So let each of us prioritize
accordingly that we can become more intimately attuned
with His word.
It is easier to memorize God’s word when you’re mentally
prepared for it. This preparation simply comes through
being awake to the Holy Spirit. First you need to be alert in
your mind but more so in the Spirit. To prepare for
memorization, it is good to worship or pray for a good period
of time first. Continue to do so until you feel the Spirit; that
way you can memorize through the Spirit—a technique that
we will discuss later.
 Know Your Bible
It is worthless to memorize something you don’t
understand. Take the time to study the Scriptures, then
memorize the things that the Spirit has explained the
context to and the meaning of to you. That way, when you
understand the meaning, it will have real life application. It’s
hard to retain scripture that doesn’t have any purpose for
your life. This is true to anything. Consider your days in high
school. There are many things that you learned that you
haven’t applied for years, and how much of that has been
retained? However, the things you have applied you still
remember to this day. But the things you haven’t applied,
you need to brush up on.
It is the same with the word of God. Whatever Scripture you
intend to apply in your life should be memorized. Then as
you apply it and meditate on it, your mind will be able to
retain it longer.
If you understand something, it is easy to remember it. If it
is useless to you, you won’t retain it. For example a
nonsense phrase is difficult to remember. Try memorizing
this: fa na sa pa la na ba da fa pa ga sa ya la da pa na fa.
This may seem ridiculous, but it has a point, so stop reading
and try to memorize it. It will be very difficult even though it
has fewer letters when compared to most verses. In fact, it’s
easier to memorize a longer verse such as John 3:16 than
that. Anything that has real life application means more to
your mind and is retained longer. It is held together by
passion, and that passion is centered on your love for Christ.
When you intend to fervently apply the word of God through
love, you will retain it more effectively. The things that are
applied are held onto longer, but you must have the love,
the passion, and the zeal to apply what you’re going to
memorize.
If there is no purpose for the scripture that you’re going to
memorize, then there is no point to memorize it. It will only
be for prideful reasons. But if you have a purpose for it and
a use for it, then it will benefit you.
Also, unless you are very serious in your attempt to
memorize, it will be very difficult to memorize more than
one verse. First you must diligently seek the Lord. Then He
blesses those that diligently seek Him. How does He bless
them? He helps them retain it. Hence we read,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
It is more than evident that we can find wisdom through
faith in Christ. And we know that God wants us to
understand our Bibles. How can we apply His word with an
ounce of discernment unless we take the time to know and
understand the Scriptures?
We must allow room for critical thinking that life application
can take place. If we memorize a vast amount of Scripture
without knowing its meaning, then we’ll only have useless
information. What’s the point to remembering something
you won’t use? It is better to memorize that information
only after having gained insight as to how it is practical for
your life. Then by using the scripture daily, it will be retained
longer. It is more useful for memory to use a scripture once
a day for 55 days than it is to repeat it to yourself 55 times
a day without knowing how to use it.
There are some Christians that want to memorize Scripture
without actually knowing its meaning. They feel it has some
sort of underlying purpose that will aid them in the end.
Some feel it will make them look good as Christians. But in
truth, while such a person may accurately recite the
scripture to another, they will wrongly apply it. So the end
result makes the person look unwise rather than spiritual or
godly.
 The Best Method
There is really only one method that has worked for
thousands of years. Rote. By this method, billions of people
throughout time have memorized whole books, sacred texts,
musical symphonies, mathematical laws, and countless
documents. Even today it is the preferred method of
memorization for children in schools. Children with mental
disabilities memorize best through variations of rote. It is
and always has been the preferred and perfected method of
memorization for every individual on the planet. If a child
with a mental disability can use it and remember much,
then why can’t anyone else? It is the most basic and
simplistic method that employs the best method for
retaining a memory.
Various methods of rote use all three methods of learning to
establish a long-term memory: kinesthetic, auditory, and
visual. It does use much repetition, which some people like
to avoid. The reason why repetition is superior is that our
minds are programed by God to remember things we
encounter frequently. If we frequently encounter a difficult
circumstance, for example, God created us to think
creatively to overcome it.
But if we experience an obstacle only once, we may not
remember how to overcome it. In as much as some would
prefer to avoid memorizing by repetition, it is actually better
for them. But by and large, it is much easier to remember
something we encounter every day for a month than 30
times in a day. It isn’t about how much we repeat things to
ourselves but how often we use them on a daily basis.
Remember the “use it or lose it” mentality? It certainly
applies with memory. If we meditate on the word of God
daily, we are more likely to retain it for the long term.
There are two things that stick out in the memory: a
repeated experience or an extremely emotionally elevated
experience. I bet you can remember a terrible nightmare
you had as a child but can’t remember what you dreamt one
month ago today. Extremely heightened states of fear, joy,
anger, and all other emotions open the mind to retain a
memory. This is why some experts claim you should create
strange mental images to remember scripture or other texts
—because it incites emotions of intrigue or laughter.
Yet no context can be retained by this method. This is where
knowledge deviates from wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to
accurately apply knowledge, whereas knowledge is merely
stored information. While there are many tactics that can
help you store information, relatively few help you to
accurately apply what you retained. Rather than using
useless methods to retain worthless material, we need to
focus on the things that help us to retain the Scriptures for
proper application. As we said before, so now I say again:
what good is it to remember the Bible if we don’t
understand how to properly apply it?
We can’t retain the word of God unless it is held through
daily use. So the best method is to repeat the Scriptures to
ourselves and apply them daily. None of us will have
heightened states of emotion with each verse, so it is best
instead to just be diligent and memorize the Bible through
self-discipline and age-old tactics that work.
There are many Bible scholars and memory experts who
have memorized entire books of the Bible word for word
using the rote method or variations of it—myself included. I
teach a variation of rote that is built on the power of faith in
the Holy Spirit.
The rote method was developed thousands of years ago
before print was known to exist. Seeing that people couldn’t
write down the information they needed for later reference,
they would memorize it. Even the ancient Jews, especially
the Levites and scribes, would memorize whole texts word
for word using rote.
Due to the results this method produces, it has been
employed by billions of people for thousands of years. This
method works so well for any individual that all major
religions have employed it. For example, in Buddhism, the
Buddhist monks use rote memorization to memorize their
sacred texts. They are required to memorize several pages
of an entire topic as little children before they can even
discuss its meaning. (We as Christian’s should meditate on
the meaning before we memorize and during
memorization.) By the time a monk “graduates,” their level
of understanding of their faith is about the same as a
Christian who has their doctorate. This goes for every
Buddhist monk because of the way they go about studying
their faith.
It is known that they are a very self-disciplined and
determined people. A Buddhist monk is a Kung Fu monk,
known to be one of the most self-disciplined people in the
world. They have employed rote along with self-discipline to
memorize sometimes hundreds if not thousands of pages of
religious text word for word. Unlike a Buddhist monk, self-
discipline and consistency are the things that many (but not
all) Christians lack today. If we employ more self-discipline
and remain consistent with it, it doesn’t take long to
memorize entire books and epistles from the Bible.
But it is true that some Buddhist monks memorize
thousands of pages. The Guinness Book of World Records of
1985 had listed a Buddhist monk by the name of Bhaddanta
Vicittabi Vumsa as recalling the most text by memory. In one
circumstance in 1954 he recited 16,000 pages of their
religious text, which he knew by heart, word for word with
no errors, in front of an audience. He had memorized all
20,000 pages of their sacred texts and all of their
commentaries as well, whereas there are only 1,200 pages
in the standard Bible. Yes, there may be different amounts
depending upon the size and translation, but it generally
amounts to less than 2,000 total pages. If then a Buddhist
can memorize 20,000 pages, why can’t we memorize
2,000?
But Buddhists aren’t the only ones that use this method.
There are some Muslims, for example, who have memorized
the entire Koran word for word. Such individuals are called
“Hafiz,” which literally means “guardian.” They are called
this because the Muslim faith considers such people as
guardians of the faith. So quite literally, there are enough
Muslims that memorized the entire Koran word for word that
they gave them a name for their achievement. Their Koran
has 114 chapters comprised of 6,236 verses. This is over
80,000 words, which they know word for word by heart.
Both Muslims and Buddhists use rote memorization to
memorize these vast amounts of verses.
If then a Buddhist or Muslim that does not have God can
memorize their entire volume of sacred texts, why do so
many Christians that have the Holy Spirit struggle with
memorizing a few verses of the Bible? For both the Buddhist
and the Muslim, it comes down to self-discipline and
persistence. But many Christians struggle with
understanding how to remember the word of God. If we
believe that we are saved through faith and faith comes by
the word of God, then why don’t we take it more seriously to
be self-disciplined to remember the Scriptures word for
word? Why don’t we become “guardians of the word,” so to
speak, by guarding the word in our hearts through
memorization? If we don’t apply self-discipline and
persistence to know the Lord more then how can we claim
to treasure His word? If we treasure it, our actions will prove
it. Let each of us be diligent to memorize His word, taking it
to heart and growing in the discernment of it.
But some find it very difficult to memorize a few verses. This
doesn’t have to be the case seeing that we have God. It is a
matter of understanding that God wants to help us at a one-
on-one level and being self-discipline enough to seek it.
Other religions memorize what they do through the power of
the flesh, so how much more can we do so through the
power of the Spirit? But God is always faithful to bless those
that seek Him. Remember that it is written,
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be firm with yourself and make time for God.
Let each of us awake to righteousness and seek Him.
Memorize your Bible so you can apply it faithfully. How can
you apply something if you don’t remember it? Stand firm,
and be self-disciplined!
 What Is God’s Suggestion for
Expanding Memory?
What is God’s suggested method for expanding our
memory? Surely if the Lord has something to say, it would
be perfect. So what do we read?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to
all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For
let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from
the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his
ways.” James 1:5–8
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come
knowledge and understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
God shows us through the word that He is the source of
wisdom, and the Holy Spirit helps bring it to remembrance.
So the secret for a truly deep memory is understanding how
to tap into the Spirit. Is God incapable of helping you retain
His word? If He expects you to apply it and offers help
through the Spirit to assist you in its application, then
certainly the Spirit will help you retain His word.
So before we do any memorizing, we need to prepare our
hearts in the Spirit. We will discuss this more in depth later.
 Applying the Method
Rote memorization is an age old tactic. We often desire to
read about new tactics, but sometimes the oldest ones are
best. Why? Because they’ve had thousands of years to be
perfected, while the new idea is from the office of a quirky
professor’s that made a single discovery. Those tricks that
professor employed have only been studied by him or a
team of his colleagues. What good is it to apply something
that hasn’t worked for anyone outside of a lab experiment?
How does rote work, and how can it be applied to the Bible?
Simple. Pick a chapter in the Bible you’d like to memorize
and divide it out by the number of verses it contains by the
number of days you’d like to take to memorize it. So for
example, let’s say you wanted to memorize the book of
James in two weeks. There are 108 verses in James and 14
days in two weeks. So 108/14=7.7
If you memorized eight verses a day it would take you 13.5
days, which is 14 days seeing that the half day would be the
fourteenth day.
With the rote method, you would then memorize each verse
out loud on the selected days. For example,

1st Day) While speaking out loud and in your mind,

memorize the first verse and recite it at least five times.
Then move on to verse two; memorize it and recite it from
memory five times without flaw. After you have memorized
verse two, recite verse one and two together five times
without flaw. Move onto three and memorize it, and recite it
five times out loud without making a mistake. Then recite all
three verses together five times without making a mistake.
Continue this process until you have memorized all eight
verses. You’re done for the day.
2nd Day) First try to recite yesterday’s eight verses without
flaw once. If you can, then proceed to finish reciting it all
five times. If you fail, then rememorize the portion you
forgot and then recite it all together five times out loud.
Afterward move on to verses 9–16, and memorize verse
nine repeating it out loud five times. Then move on to ten,
repeating that five times. Now when you have ten down,
don’t recite 1–8. You did that yesterday and were only
brushing up today. Instead, you need to recite 9 and 10
together five times. Then work on 11 and recite five times
then 9–11 five times until you’ve memorized 9–16 and
recited that five times without failure as well. After you’re
finished with 9–16 then, recite 1–8 and 9–16 together, then
all 16 verses. When you’ve done this five times without fail,
you’re done for the day.

3rd day) Recite 1–16 five times without fail. When

accomplished, move on to verses 17–24. Repeat the same
method from yesterday and every consecutive day until all
108 verses are memorized in 14 days.
When you’re doing this method, you’re also supposed to
walk back and forth or sit on the edge of your chair for
mental alertness. If you recline or sit back, it tells your brain
that it’s time to shut down and rest. So take it seriously, and
sit forward in your chair.
Now, there are some problems with this method, which is
why I have personally augmented it. The first is that we are
commanded to approach God through faith. We are to
surrender to His work that works in us that He may work
through us, as we read,
“To this end I also labor, striving according to His working
which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:29
Let each of us strive according to His working. It is easy to
figure it out in our flesh saying, “If I memorize eight verses
per day every day, I’ll memorize such and such amount of
books by next year.” It sounds very appealing, but through
faith in God, I have personally memorized whole books in
one day. God doesn’t need our logic; He can do anything if
we have faith. If we strive according to the inner working of
the Holy Spirit, the resulting knowledge is greater than
using human logic. If we memorize in the power of the flesh,
we will retain much but won’t always retain the meaning.
When we memorize through the Spirit, we always retain the
meaning of the word for daily application.
We are not justified by our works. It is God who is supposed
to work in us and through us. Hence we are justified by faith
because God operates through our faith. By using rote
without augmenting it, such a person is operating in the
power of the flesh and not the power of faith. They are
memorizing their Bible by their own effort, little by little,
rather than through the ability the Spirit supplies.
Remember that we established through Jesus that the Spirit
will bring to remembrance His words. As it is written,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
Let the Holy Spirit bring the word of God to your
remembrance. Have faith in Him that He intends to do so
according to God’s promise. It is the promise of God, and if
you’re willing to seek it, you shall obtain it according to the
measure of your faith. If you’re passionate about His word,
then pursue the help and power of the Holy Spirit to
understand and know your Bible. Don’t rely on your own
heart or own mental ability. Yes, God gave you a brain to use
it, but He also gave you the Holy Spirit, and you should learn
to utilize His strength as well.
Now, there are MANY Bible scholars who have memorized
whole books of the Bible using the rote method. They swear
by it and would teach everyone else to do it as well. But
they are doing it in the flesh and not through Christ
according to His method, which we outlined. Yes, they may
pray for help before they start, but they don’t let God direct
and lead the process. Rather, they pick a book they like,
divide it out, and apply the rote method.
But God calls us to be led by the Spirit in the things we say
and do. As we read,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons
of God.” Romans 8:14
How can we be led by God in this? Simple. First we pray and
ask the Lord to speak to us through the Scriptures. We need
to pray that He would show us the things He wants us to
apply and memorize.
After doing this, read the Scriptures, and whatever sticks out
to you is the Spirit speaking. So when the words of the Bible
jump out at you, memorize them. Find the entire portion
that speaks to you, even if it is a whole book, and memorize
it.
Now, those Bible scholars who memorize using the rote
memorize six to ten verses per day, and it takes them over
a month to memorize an entire book. But using the method
I’m outlining, I have personally memorized entire books in a
day. It’s very draining and hard work, but it only takes a few
hours.
I don’t consider myself to be any more intelligent than the
next person; the only difference is that I do it through faith
and strive according to God’s work in me. I have learned
that the more faith I have and the more self-discipline I
have, the more I can memorize. Again, I don’t consider
myself to be any more intelligent than another person. God
doesn’t operate through my strength. Rather, He operates
through my weakness. As it is written,
“And He said to me, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness…’” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Before I memorized through faith, I could hardly memorize a
single verse. It was extremely hard for me to even do five
verses per day. But as soon as I acknowledged my weakness
and handed it over to God, He worked through me to
memorize whole books and chapters. I know for a fact that
everyone that has the Holy Spirit can memorize as much as
I have if they choose faith and apply self-discipline. If God
would bless me to do it in a day, why wouldn’t He bless you?
I’m no better than you in any way! And what do we read?
“But from those who seemed to be something—whatever
they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows
personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be
something added nothing to me.” Galatians 2:6
God doesn’t favor anyone but gives the Spirit without
measure. Listen to the voice of the Spirit through the
Scriptures, and let Him guide you to the things He wants
you to memorize. The scriptures He speaks out to you are
the scriptures that He will help you with. As for the others,
He won’t help you with them until His timing.
While ALL Scripture is profitable, only some directly apply to
our current life circumstances. God is our teacher, and He
chooses the lessons and leads us through the course book
(which is the Bible). So read along with the lesson God has
at hand for you, and don’t go off on a tangent. Let God
teach you and build you in wisdom. For we must all be
taught by God and not ourselves. As it is written,
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by
God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from
the Father comes to Me.” John 6:45
By memorizing what He speaks out to you, He will lead you
through the Scriptures His way. In a very short time, He will
guide you through all Scripture and help you memorize
dozens of entire books as He has done for me.
So beginning with the things God wants you to memorize,
break them down and memorize and recap similar to before.
But first we pray and read to find the verses God wants us
to memorize. After reading, let’s say God really spoke out to
us in the entire book of James. So we would memorize the
book like this:
1) Read the book, and make sure you
understand it. What good is it to memorize a ton
of scriptures that you don’t know how to apply?
After knowing the meaning and being sure that it
is what God wants you to do, pray and ask the
Lord to open your mind to help you retain the
word and bind it in your heart. Pray for wisdom,
and have all faith He will give it to you. Then
memorize the first verse.

Don’t recite it multiple times. Just move to

the next after it is memorized, having faith
that God will help you retain it.

2) After finishing the second verse, recite one

and two together. After you have done it well,
move on to verse three.

3) After three is memorized, recite verse one

through three together. Then move on to four.

4) Keep doing this until the chapter is finished.

Recite the whole chapter without failure. If you
make a mistake, brush up in that one spot then
try reciting the chapter again.

5) After you’ve recited it, you’re done with that

chapter until the end of the book. Move on to
chapter two.
 6) Memorize chapter two the same way you
did the last chapter then you’re done with
chapter two until the end.

7) Move on to chapter three, and memorize

each chapter individually until all five chapters in
the book of James are done.

8) Afterward recite them all together without

failure. If you make a mistake, brush up then
recite it. After you recite the whole book without
looking at the pages, you’re done.
I do everything in fives as it makes it easier. Every five
verses, recap on all five. With large books, stop every five
chapters and recite them all together: chapters 1–5 then 6–0
then 7–15 then recite them all together, 1–15, as a whole.
After you’ve done this, congratulations! You’ve memorized
the entire book. When memorizing, there is nothing wrong
with looking at the page. After it’s memorized, though, don’t
try reciting it by peeking at your Bible for a reminder. If you
have to look at the page, then it’s not memorized.
There are some supposed experts on Scripture
memorization who claim that there is no shame in looking at
the pages for a reminder. But in truth, if you’re looking at
the pages, then you don’t have it memorized. In the next
few weeks, you’ll completely lose those scriptures that you
had to open your Bible for. But if you can recite it without
looking at the page, then you’ll retain it longer. Besides, you
can’t always carry your Bible with you, and it would be good
to remember every verse you memorized word for word
when you don’t have it on your person. Those supposed
Bible memory experts who say it’s okay to peek claim they
memorized many books. But if they are looking at the
pages, then the truth is they are reading the Bible and not
memorizing it. The books I have memorized I can recite
without a Bible in hand. Anyone can do this through the
power of the Spirit. By doing it through the Spirit, it is glory
to God and not ourselves. If we do it through our own
strength, then we glorify ourselves. While there are many
helpful tricks to memorize a verse, nothing could help you
more for memorizing entire books than applying the rote
method through faith in Christ.
You will no longer need to look at the page, but you will
need to brush up. Don’t listen to the Bible readers who call
themselves memory experts. They need a Bible in hand to
teach because they don’t have the whole book retained.
I have held scores of Bible studies examining the Scriptures
word for word without holding a Bible. I don’t do this to
impress anyone but to encourage others that it is possible
for anyone to memorize the Bible in its entirety. By knowing
my Bible, it has also opened the door to have impromptu
Bible studies in all kinds of unimaginable places and at
unexpected times. I have had them at gas stations when
filling up the gas, in hotels, in the lobby, next to the pool, at
grocery stores, in aisles, while standing in line, in parking
lots, and while walking through city parks. God’s word
comes up all the time, and it’s good to be able to study it
with others at irregular times when we normally wouldn’t
have a Bible handy.
Know your Bible, and it will change your life! Be serious
about it. Don’t memorize it to impress others, but have a
humble heart and you’ll become a blessing to those around
you.
Now, if you’re struggling with putting two verses together, it
can be helpful to chunk them. We use the chunk method in
many areas of life already. Think of numbers for example.
18165559471 is hard to memorize, but if we break it into
chunks like a telephone number, 1(818)555-9471, it is much
easier.
When memorizing large portions of Scripture, break each
verse into smaller chunks. After memorizing each chunk, put
them together as one full verse. After this, you can go on to
memorize the next verse. Try to memorize paragraphs three
to five verses at a time. Take each chunk one at a time and
each verse one at a time. Work on the first verse then when
you have it down, work on the second verse then the third;
go back and test yourself by trying to recall all three in
order.
Try to say all three verses in order without any mistakes. If
you make a mistake, go back and brush up. If you’re having
a hard time remembering which verse comes next, create a
chunk between the two verses.
For example, consider these two verses:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans
10:10
If you have both of them memorized but can’t recall them in
order, then take something in between the two verses, such
as: “you will be saved. For with the heart one believes.”
Then after you have that chunk memorized, go back and
recall them both in order. It will be much easier to do so at
this point. You can do this at every break in Scripture—
anywhere that you’re having a hard time remembering what
comes next. If you’re struggling with a single large verse,
then do the same thing.
Also, confidence helps tremendously. Sometimes when we
memorize a verse, we have it down correctly but keep
questioning ourselves in regard to accuracy. When you have
established that it is accurately memorized, be confident, or
you’ll forget it more quickly. When you question yourself, it’s
hard to retain because your mind rejects it as bad
information that needs correction. But if you have
memorized it well, then have confidence and move on. It
may sound overly simple, but it really makes a tremendous
difference compared to constantly questioning if you have it
right. If you’ve memorized the verse accurately, then be
confident through faith when reciting it. If you’re not, you’ll
feel as if you’re going to mess up then want to look at the
page. Make sure that you have the verse memorized
correctly, though. It is easier to memorize a verse correctly
the first time than to try to fix a verse that was memorized
incorrectly due to laziness.
Faith is the essence of everything. After having prayed and
having asked God to help you memorize and retain the
Scriptures, then you need to memorize by faith. When I first
started this method nearly a decade ago, I struggled. I read
James 1:5–8, which told me that God will grant me wisdom if
I had faith.
So I sat down to memorize that verse through faith. It was
the first verse that I ever memorized through faith. Later I
memorized the entire book and moved on to other books.
But when I first started on verse 5, I struggled. I always had
a hard time getting a single verse down, and I couldn’t
handle more than eight verses per day. It took me a of
couple hours to get those eight verses too!
But as I struggled, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t
memorize it. When I was about to give up, the Lord
reminded me of two verses:
“Jesus said to him, ‘If You can believe, all things are possible
to him who believes.’” Mark 9:23
And
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13
Then I realized that I couldn’t memorize it, but God can. In
fact, He already knows all the Scripture by heart, seeing that
it is HIS word after all. So I put my trust in Him that He
would give me the wisdom to memorize. I didn’t know how
He would do it; I just trusted that He would and that it would
be His work. Afterward I finished verses 5–8 in two minutes
tops.
As time went on, I began to realize that the more faith I had,
the more I could memorize. I found it hard to memorize
whole paragraphs, but I realized through my journey that it
was merely an issue of faith. When I considered memorizing
a whole book, I gulped. “How can I possibly do that!?” I
thought. But then I remembered not to trust myself. So I put
my faith in Christ that He can do anything. Then I stepped
out on the water, so to speak, and He blessed it. After that, I
memorized around 50 different chapters and nearly a dozen
books in about two months.
So I laugh at the teacher that tells you to memorize five to
eight verses a day for a month and a half and then you’ll
have a whole book memorized. I memorized and retained a
book per day on several occasions during those two months.
I could hardly memorize a single verse then suddenly
through the Holy Spirit, by faith in Christ, I memorized a
vast amount of Scripture. I have now, over the years,
memorized many more books and chapters and have
retained much of what I memorized.
Do I forget things through this method? Obviously. I have to
go back and brush up like everyone else. But I’ve found that
brushing up is infinitely easier than memorizing, mainly
because the scripture is still there in my head. It’s just
lingering around in a hidden memory bank, and I have to
find it again. I retain each book for about a month to two
months before I need a brush up. Otherwise, I can recite it
word for word without a Bible in hand.
I believe with all my heart that anyone that has received the
Spirit of God can do this too. The only thing that you need is
faith.
But you have to take it very seriously and be disciplined. As
we said before, self-discipline is something lacking in the
church today. If your mind drifts off, then wrangle your
thought back in and focus hard on what you’re memorizing.
Be serious, and take it seriously through faith.
God opens your mind for a greater wisdom through faith. It
is not obtained through fleshly practice or trial and error but
only by faith. While many people have memorized and
retained huge portions of text, they did so with a great
struggle. I’ve only needed diligence, and God did the rest.
That’s all He requires from you. If a person finds it hard to
believe that they can memorize more through faith, then
that’s exactly why they’ve been struggling in the first place.
Remember that we approach God and practice His word
through faith. Why wouldn’t we retain it that way either?
This isn’t a method that works for a few people but for
everyone that has the Holy Spirit. As it is written,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance the word of God
to the children of the Lord. All you need to do is believe. God
did it for me, and He will do it for you. Take it to heart. Don’t
try this method; do this method.
We never try to have faith. Anyone who tries to have faith
doesn’t actually have faith. Anyone who has faith does what
they need to and operates in the Spirit of God. There is no
“try”; there is only “do.” If you “try” this method, it won’t
work for you. Trying implies a level of uncertainty. You have
seen the Scriptures in which God promises to give you
wisdom.
God has promised and intends to help those that have His
Holy Spirit. The only way it can’t work for a person is if they
don’t have the Spirit of God or don’t have faith. Faith is
God’s method, not mine. His method works for everyone.
Consider the benefits of knowing His word intimately. Have
faith in His power to help you then apply this simple but
age-old memorization technique. Now, one may ask, “Did
anyone from the Apostles’ days memorize the word of God
in its entirety?” We see that Paul memorized much
Scripture. But our greatest evidence is actually Luke. He
wrote both the book of Acts and the book of Luke. He never
actually walked with Jesus personally, so the book of Luke
was the testimony from the apostles he heard. But he
remembered it in extremely vivid detail. By this it is obvious
that he memorized the entire gospel narrative. Also, we
believe that the Holy Spirit wrote the bible. So if the Holy
Spirit wrote through Luke, then it is more than obvious that
the Spirit helped him retain the memory of the book of Luke
so he could write it and it could be added to the Bible.
When Jeremiah had his scrolls destroyed by King Jehoiakim,
the Lord commanded him to rewrite them. As we read,
“Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words
which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the
word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “Take yet
another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were
in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has
burned.” Jeremiah 36:27–28
Was it a lengthy scroll? Quite obviously. Hence we read,
“And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four
columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast
it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was
consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” Jeremiah
36:23
This scroll had columns of text, and Jeremiah remembered it
all. It was obvious that He had them all put to memory since
he was told by God to rewrite it. Again, we believe that the
Spirit wrote the word of God. So it is evident that the Holy
Spirit helped Jeremiah retain that information to write it
again. And as we stated before,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
As the Holy Spirit brought the words of the scroll to
Jeremiah’s remembrance, so He will do for you as you
memorize the word of God.
God’s method works. Have faith in His power, and be very
serious about memorizing His word. He will help you on your
journey and make your burden easy and your yoke light.
 Final Thoughts
Memorizing God’s word is critical for every believer. By
locking His word in our hearts, we can carry it with us for
daily practice. This is why it is vital to meditate on His word
after it has been memorized.
After you have the book or section in question fully
memorized, come back to it a few days later to meditate on
it. Do not merely recite the scripture to yourself, but slowly
mediate verse by verse. Take the time to consider and
absorb the meaning of each verse. As you listen to the
Spirit, He will give you revelation upon revelation in regard
to how each verse fits together with verses from other
books to create a bigger picture. Even as we read,
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s
wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
As you meditate on the verses, the Spirit will compare each
verse with other verses and teach you the doctrine behind
the scripture. You’ll begin to realize how the words fit
together more appropriately in ways you’ve never realized
before. In some cases, it will be as if the Spirit opened your
eyes to a hidden meaning for the first time.
This is why I teach that it is best to meditate on the
meaning of the verse as you memorize. That way you can
carry the appropriate doctrine with you as well as
understand perfectly how to apply it in your life. It is better
to know how to apply the scripture personally than to know
how to recite it to others. We should sharpen our own
swords in Christ before we sharpen another’s.
Some get carried away with trying to memorize the
reference numbers with the verse. It is better to memorize
the passage as a whole in order to meditate on the meaning
first rather than to try to memorize the exact numerical
location at the first. After you have meditated on the
passage, then consider what verses you’d be mostly likely
to use; you can then memorize the corresponding reference
numbers. You certainly can memorize all the reference
numbers at the first, but I have personally learned that it is
difficult to meditate on the meaning of the verse when a
person is struggling to retain where it is numerically located.
Besides this, if you do not frequently use the verse, the first
thing you’ll forget is where it is located, leading to an
endless cycle of rememorizing the locations.
It can be difficult to press ahead with new material to
meditate on and grow in if you’re constantly brushing up
and focusing on the old. If you don’t intend to recite every
little verse according to its number to another person, then
it would be best to remember what book and chapter it
comes from and focus on the meaning of the scripture to
rightly apply it in your own life.
Some try to give an appearance of being spiritual through
reciting much Scripture. But it is better to BE spiritual by
applying the Scripture personally through understanding
how to use it rather than trying to look spiritual without
knowing how to properly use it.
Part of learning how to wield a sword requires the fighter to
know how to properly use it. There are some that enjoy
spouting off scriptures but don’t know how to use them.
They know where they are located and have them
memorized but have no idea what they mean. It is like a
man in the market strutting his stuff while showing off his
sword: “See, I have a sword!” Or it is like the man that
wants to look cool by carrying a gun in a holster but has no
idea how to shoot it straight.
Such a person is no intimidation to a thief or murderer. But
the swordsman that knows how to fight like a warrior is the
dread of any thief. A criminal does not often take a poke at a
marksman. Even so, Satan takes advantage of those that
memorize for prideful reasons. For he puffs them up with
pride to make them stumble. As it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
And also,
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a
fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Knowledge is merely stored information, while wisdom is the
ability to properly use that information. If you only
memorize your Bible to look spiritual and share much
information with others rather than edifying yourself, then
you’re doing it for prideful reasons. But if you are doing it for
edification, then consider the wisdom of meditating on each
passage while listening to the Holy Spirit’s explanation. I
just cannot emphasize it enough; it is that important! Do not
only memorize your Bible but take the time to meditate on
its meaning to rightly apply it in your own life. Take it verse
by verse to absorb the meaning that you may rightly apply
it in your own life!
Do not let the devil take advantage of you. Seek the truth
behind the scripture, and take the time to meditate on it for
your own personal use. Let each of us memorize our Bibles
to grow in understanding and applying them and not to look
showy or flashy in what we know.
But one cannot be wise without knowledge. For wisdom
determines how we apply knowledge. So if we don’t
increase in knowledge, we won’t increase in wisdom.
Knowledge stored for love does not puff up but rather
edifies. If you memorize to be nearer to the Lord out of love
for Him, then you will be edified.
But if we do not listen to the Spirit, we will not be led to
truth. For it is written,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will
guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own
authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will
tell you things to come.” John 16:13
The Holy Spirit teaches us as individuals and leads us into
all truth. We must be taught by God and take the time to
sincerely listen to the Spirit and grow in His word. Be
intentional about seeking Him fervently and continually
throughout the day, and it will make a dramatic difference in
your life. If we don’t take the time to bind the truth in our
hearts, then how will we remember it later for appropriate
use? And it is the Holy Spirit who gives us that truth, so we
must be faithful to seek Him for it.
When you come across a situation in life where you need to
apply it, He will remind you of the verse that you took the
time to memorize. All you need to do is grow in listening to
the voice of the Spirit, and then all things will be easier to
apply with wisdom.
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come
knowledge and understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
 I’d Love To Hear From You
As an author I regard the feedback of my
readers highly. When considering a book
many people weigh reviews in the
balance.
If you enjoyed this book please consider
helping others make an informed decision.
Leaving a review can help spread the
message of the gospel, increase other’s
faith through these books, and would be a
great way to support this ministry for free!
 Also By Adam Houge
How To Memorize The Bible Quick And
Easy In 5 Simple Steps
(Five easy to practice steps that will help
you memorize more scripture than you
ever thought possible)
How To Memorize The Entire Bible In No
Time Flat
(Learning to memorize through the power
of the Holy Spirit)
Created For Love
(Why were we created? What did God
make us for?)
The Power and The Passion
(Learning to walk in the power of God by
first walking in the passion of Jesus Christ)
7 Powerful Prayers For The Joy Of The Lord
(A one week study and prayer devotional
to experience a greater sense of God’s
joy.)
 Cherishing The Heart Of A Child
(Embracing our children in the love of
Christ)
Nurturing A Child’s Heart
(Christ centered child rearing)
The 7 Spiritual Habits That Will Change
Your Life Forever
(The 7 habits that lead to a life changing
relationship in Christ)
The 21 Most Powerful Prayers That Will
Change Your Life Forever
(A prayer devotional with 21 of the
greatest and most life changing prayers)
Self disciplining For Godly Desire
(Disciplining ourselves in Christ to Desire
Godliness over the things of the flesh)
Becoming A Disciplined Man Of God
(A study to become a disciplined man of
God)
Choosing Kindness
(Walking in kindness toward all, because
His loving-kindness is better than life)
 About the Author
Adam is a preacher, teacher and Christian
author. He is a devoted husband and
father of 3 boys. Through his travels he’s
seen the need for a new awakening and a
new revival: A revival of the heart. Come
join Adam on this journey of redemption
and experience God like never before!
 Table of Contents

Introduction. 1
The Basics. 1
Know Your Bible. 1
The Best Method. 1
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding
Memory?. 1
Applying the Method. 1
Final Thoughts. 1
I’d Love To Hear From You. 1
Also By Adam Houge. 1
About the Author. 1