Scripture Memory by Meditation System

While advancing the gospel in Hong Kong, China in 2001, we had the great joy of meeting a man who was committed to Scripture memory. He was the strategy coordinator for a group of missionaries working to reach the “Grass Roots” people of Kowloon. While visiting with him, we could not help but notice that he was continually speaking of Scripture and applying it to his work. He was, virtually, a human Bible. Whether we were sharing Christ with Buddhists in the temple or helping clean a tiny apartment, many events throughout the day reminded him of Scripture. Toward the end of our trip, we were compelled to ask this man how he came to know so much of God’s word by heart. Over the next few minutes, he inspired us with a testimony we have not forgotten. With bashful humility, he described how he became involved in Scripture memory during his early twenties. He made a personal committment to memorize one verse per day. During the last few years of college, he memorized over 1,000 verses! In addition, he started annually reading through the Bible in 1973 and was, while we were there, working his way through a Cantonese version. His incredible testimony inspired us to follow in his footsteps toward memorizing one verse every day. Though skeptical at first, we soon agreed that such an undertaking was not unrealistic. In fact, as we started holding each other accountable to the commitment, we began to see the Spirit of God dynamically working within us to write these verses upon our hearts and minds. What a wonderful blessing the discipline of Scripture memory became to us!

Over the following years, while continuing to memorize Scripture, we began to see dramatic growth in our evangelistic zeal, personal devotions, and passion for knowing Christ. We grew increasingly interested in making improvements to our approach and establishing the most highly effective method possible. After much trial, error, more trial, and now success, we are excited to share with you The Figure 8 Scripture Memory System. We believe The Figure 8 system is an invaluable tool for improving your walk with Christ for years to come! Therefore, it is our joy to present to you the entire system free of charge. Please feel free to reproduce and distribute any of this material. Our great desire is that many Christians, around the world, will begin to memorize Scripture like never before. Please be sure to read all of the online material before beginning. Each page contains vital information for your Scripture memory success. Within the system, there are four primary disciplines; Meditation, Memorization, Disciplined Study, and Testing Out. The disciplines begin with meditation.
Meditation

The Figure 8 Scripture Memory by Meditation System is based upon biblical principles found within Psalm 119. Throughout these 176 verses, the Psalmist sets forth the concept of meditating upon Scripture. He says, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word” (Psalm 119:15-16). The natural result of biblical meditation is remembering God’s precepts. However, it is important to note that the overarching goal is not to memorize words, but instead for the teachings and commandments of God to be written on the tablets of our hearts (Proverbs 7:2-3). This will bring about a life dedicated to knowing God personally rather than merely knowing about Him. We must not aspire to become intelligent rule-followers, but rather obedient Christ-lovers. In addition, the Figure 8 method is not a magical formula. It is a system of disciplines. To achieve success in this endeavor, you must make disciplined and consistent use of your energy and effort.

This first discipline of the Figure 8 System involves meditating upon God’s word throughout the day and night. Many Christians spend consistent daily time with God, in prayer and Scripture reading. However, it seems that very few take time to follow the biblical example of day and night meditation upon the person of God and His word. No other Scripture memory method gets you closer to the biblical model.

We have found that many Christians desire to memorize Scripture, but struggle to find a truly successful method. Typically, believers begin each day with a personal quiet-time followed by 20-25 minutes of Scripture memory work. However, this approach is unbiblical and leads the student to commit two mistakes. The first mistake is that time is given to Scripture memory over a short period of each morning. The main problem with this is that by lunchtime, the passages that have been reviewed tend to drown in a sea of daily responsibilities. Only a few hours after committing a verse to memory, it is often forgotten. The second mistake is that usually work is done only on key verses. Now, please don’t misunderstand. Memorizing key verses is a great benefit to our walking closely with Christ. For instance, think of the countless times someone has shared John 3:16 with an unbeliever or the encouragement a downcast Christian has received by reminding himself “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Certainly, these prominent key verses should hold a special place in our practice of Scripture memory. However, pulling specific verses from the surrounding text makes remembering them more difficult and can lead to misinterpretation. Within the discipline of Scripture memory, this should be avoided at all costs.

The most effective Scripture memory principle is emphasized throughout Psalm 119. Obsessed with the word of God, the Psalmist urges believers to meditate upon Scripture day and night in order to remember it. The Psalmist writes, “O how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). By reading and meditating upon Scripture throughout the day and night, you will have a greater capacity to memorize and apply God’s word! With this in mind, let’s look a moment at how the system works out on a daily basis.
Schedule

Students choose a book of the Bible and meditate upon one chapter every hour for at least 8 hours per day. This may sound overwhelming at first, but we assure you, it is not. Earlier we mentioned that a common practice is to begin each day with 20-25 minutes of Scripture memory work. Well, the Figure 8 system utilizes the same amount of time. The difference is that these 20-25 minutes are used throughout the day rather than all at once. This is possible by taking time, at the top of each hour, to read the chapter thoughtfully and slowly. You may be thinking, “Every hour for 8 hours? I don’t have time for that! I’m too busy!” Well, you may not realize it, but reading one chapter of the Bible only takes about 3 minutes. Therefore, taking a few minutes during 8 of your 15 waking hours equals only 20-25 minutes per day. Therefore, instead of working harder, you are working smarter. To make things clear, let’s consider a typical day. Perhaps your alarm sounds at 7:00 am and your day begins. Before rising from bed, take the very first 3 minutes of your day and meditatively read your current chapter. What better way to start the day, than by setting your mind upon the word of God?! After you shower and finish breakfast, the time is 8:00 am. Here is another chance to meditate upon the same chapter again. After this, you probably head to work or school. Around 9:00 am, you can take a few minutes to focus upon the same chapter again. So far, the day is going very well. However, remember that if you happen to miss a couple of hours, there are many hours left in order to reach a total of 8. For instance, perhaps you have a meeting at 10:00 am or you simply forget about your plan. It’s okay because lunch will be around 12:00 pm, allowing an opportunity to meditate for the 4 th time today! Just think, it is only 12:00 pm and you are already halfway through your 8 hour plan! Obviously, this pattern continues throughout the day until you have reviewed the chapter each hour for no less than 8 hours. Within the Scripture memory schedules, this is referred to as the 8-Hour Plan.

According to each schedule, each chapter should be given individual attention for 8 straight days. This provides an opportunity to meditate upon each chapter at least 64 times by the end of the 8-day period. You will be amazed at how much more you will learn and how much better you know the text than when you began. This daily meditation is designed to saturate your heart with the word of God, keeping it fresh upon your mind as you walk through life seeking and serving Christ. At this point, it is helpful to note that the primary goal of the system is not memorization, but meditation. You see, memorization is the by-product of meditating day and night. Until you become conscious of the times at which you should meditate, you will need to find a way to remind yourself of your Figure 8 hourly schedule. You may want to tie a string around your wrist, wear a watch that beeps on the hour, or schedule hourly appointments into your Microsoft Outlook, PDA, or day planner.

To help you understand the basic schedule design, we have provided an online example page containing a typical Scripture memory schedule. Go ahead and open the example page so you can see it while I explain the components. The example schedule illustrates what should happen each day if memorizing the book of Philippians. First, you will notice that the schedule does not refer to the seven days of the week. When memorizing Scripture according to a weekly schedule, it is easy to miss a day and feel compelled to wait until the next week in order to pick up where you left off. To prevent this, the Figure 8 system does not run Monday through Friday. Instead, the days are listed as 1 through 8. Therefore, if you happen to miss a day, you may continue on without hesitation.

Next, notice that the schedule breaks each day into three sections, A.M., DAYTIME, and P.M. Typically, mornings and evenings (A.M. and P.M.) are used for reciting recently memorized chapters. This is a great help in retaining what you have memorized. One of the most crucial aspects of Scripture memory is retention. To retain something means to hold it in. Obviously, in this case, we are speaking of holding in Scripture. Regular effort toward retaining what you have memorized is essential. Without such effort, over time, what was once fresh and vibrant will become stale and stagnant. If you are going to dedicate yourself to memorize Scripture, it is only logical to put in a little extra effort in order to retain what you have learned. Therefore, the Figure 8 system includes scheduled times to work on retention. Within each schedule, the color BLUE marks when retention work should be done. You will notice that the retention work often occurs in the A.M., P.M., and during the last 8 days of each schedule. It involves reciting previously memorized material to yourself. For instance, if you were following the Philippians schedule on the example page, you would recite from memory Philippians 1 every morning and/or every night during the second 8-day session. Likewise, during the third 8-day session, after having memorized the first two chapters, you would recite Philippians 1 and 2 every morning and/or every night. The final 8 days are dedicated to reciting daily all of the blocks on that schedule and are crucial because they allow for one final opportunity to drive the material home before moving on to another schedule. Finally, you will also notice that every 8th day is followed by a day of rest from the 8-hour plan. This day should be considered a reward for your hard work. All you will have to do on the day off is test out of the material you recently memorized. If you like, these days may provide you a great opportunity to brush up on previously memorized chapters and/or books.

As you continue to learn the schedule, let us introduce 2 important terms within the system; sessions and blocks. A session is a period of 8 days followed by a day off. A block is a portion of Scripture you will memorize during the course of a session. Each block is important because it contains verses which have been put together for the purpose of effective meditation and memorization. The number of verses contained in each block will change depending on the level you choose.

The last order of business before moving on is to let you know about the three levels of intensity within the Figure 8 system. Since not everyone is willing and able to memorize as fast as others, we have created three levels of intensity; under-graduate, graduate, and post-graduate. These names reflect the fact that we are desiring to live as students of God’s word. Regardless of your personal and professional schedule, you should be able to find a pace which fits your level of commitment and ability. The under-graduate level will push you to memorize 8 verses every session and the graduate level will push you to memorize 16 verses every session. The post-graduate level is the highest intensity and will assign up to 32 verses to each session. Though the under-graduate and graduate levels may appeal to you because they are less intense, don’t count out the post-graduate level. You do not have to be a spiritual genius or giant to memorize a large portion of Scripture every 8 days. Following this level is easier than you think and will allow you to memorize Scripture at a faster pace. Remember that committing to use the post-graduate level will put you in a position to memorize the entire New Testament in 5-7 years.

Once you have a grasp of the overall system and schedule, move on to the second Figure 8 discipline, Memorization.