1 MEDITATION

Need more explanation? Here it is.

Meditation

Meditate to Remember

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). We must aspire not 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 succeed in this, you must make disciplined and consistent use of your energy and effort and give yourself to meditation.

Pay Attention: This is the Most Important Part of the System

After you choose a biblical book or passage, the Figure 8 approach will lead you to meditate upon one chapter every hour for at least 8 hours per day. This may sound overwhelming at first, but as soon as you begin you’ll see it is not. 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. meditateBefore 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 read the 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. The day is going very well, but 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! This pattern continues throughout the day until you have reviewed the chapter each hour for 8 hours. Within the printable Scripture Memory Schedules, this is referred to as the 8-Hour Plan. It might help 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 install an app on your phone that will remind each hour. Try this one for iphone.

By the end of the 8 days, you will have read the same chapter at least 64 times. 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. And remember that the primary goal of this approach to Scripture memory is not memorization, but meditation on the Bible.

We have Printable Schedules

To help you understand the basic schedule design, we have provided an online example page containing a typical Scripture memory schedule. examplescheduleThe example schedule below 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.

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 practicing recently memorized chapters. Regular effort toward retaining what you have memorized is essential. 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. Keep an eye out for these scheduled times to work on retention. 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.

So far, so good? The next discipline is Memorization.

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