The Ultimate Guide to Memorizing Scripture for Families

You’ll love this ultimate guide to memorizing Scripture covering top tips, how-tos, and our favorites of Bible verses to memorize.

Two years ago my oldest child came home from youth group and declared that she wanted to stop showing horses so she could join our church’s Bible quiz team.

I’ll admit that I thought it was a little drastic. But we went to the banquet to learn about the program. For my daughter, it was love at first sight. But I had some reservations.

Have you ever known someone who could rattle off verse or quote for nearly every occasion, and yet at the same time was unpleasant to be around?

My concern wasn’t that she would learn Scripture, it was that she would focus on the mere practice of doing so.

Growing up in the church, I’ve hidden a lot of Scripture in my heart. Some of it I remember, some not so much. Some memory verses were learned for nothing other than a prize or to impress teachers or leaders.

I didn’t want that for her. I wanted her to have a personal relationship with Christ, to grow up walking with the Lord, and to never depart from the things she’s learned.

I was afraid a list of Bible verses to memorize for a competition would work against that goal. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Benefits of Memorizing Scripture

I’m not advocating memorization just for the sake of it. But let me tell you, memorizing Scripture is an INCREDIBLE way to know God. As with pretty much all spiritual matters, it’s all about the heart attitude behind it.

Every Wednesday night I teach a group of 6th graders at my church and this is the number one topic we tackle. You see, if they learn all the Bible memory verses simply because their parents tell them to, their efforts will not reap the maximum benefits.

They need to memorize Bible verses because they want to know God more. Memorizing God’s Word…

• Pleases the Lord
• Helps us know God’s commands
• Keeps us from sinning
• Gives us good things to meditate on
• Helps us trust God in all things

How to Memorize Bible Verses

Often the biggest stumbling block to memorizing Scripture is simply our own lack of confidence. Many years ago a friend challenged me to memorize Psalm 91 with my kids. Under my breath, I laughed at the thought. It would take all year to do that!

But I decided to give it a try. Guess how long it took us? Less than a month! Isn’t that funny? When you are motivated to do something, you’d be surprised at what you can accomplish!

Last year my daughter memorized all of Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and 1 Thessalonians. She also memorized much of Ephesians and Galatians. This year her goal is to memorize the whole book of John! That’s 879 verses!

We’ve put together an epic list of 14 easy memory verse games you can use at home. They don’t require large groups and most work well for longer verses and passages (not just short phrases).

You’ll also find our step-by-step strategy for memorizing longer passages in this collection of Bible verses to memorize for families.

Which Bible Verses to Memorize

Before you begin memorizing Scripture with kids, be sure you take a moment and determine your purpose, your plan, and your process. I suggest writing this down because a written plan is very powerful!

• PURPOSE is simply the WHY behind making the effort to memorize Scripture with your kids.
• PLAN exactly what you will do by identifying how many Bible verses you’d like to memorize and how long you’d like to work on it. For example, if you are working with an older child, perhaps you’d do a few verses a week. With a preschooler, you’d possibly be working on one verse a month!
• PROCESS is the method you’ll use to learn. We’ve given you lots of ideas below, so pick a few you think might work for your kids and start there.

Once you’ve defined your 3 P’s of Scriptures for kids, the only thing left is to choose what you’ll memorize. I recommend starting with Bible memory verses that will be most meaningful to your child in this season of life.

For example, if she has recently been asking questions about salvation, it’s a great time for those verses. If he is struggling with saying kind words, perhaps focus on verses to help with that.

If you’ve never memorized Scripture before, I would recommend starting with Psalm 119:9-16, as it’s a simple passage that discusses the importance of knowing God’s Word!

• For primary-aged kids (ages 4-7) memorize Psalm 119:11
• For junior-aged kids (ages 8-12) memorize Psalm 119:9-11
• For youth-aged kids (ages 12+) memorize Psalm 119:9-16

We’ve even created a fun Scripture memory printable for that passage. Click below to get yours!

Resources For Memorizing Scripture

Once you’ve memorized your first verse, you’ll surely be looking for more. Here are several of our favorite Bible memorization lists and helps.

Tips for Memorizing Scripture With Kids

• Focus on QUALITY over quantity. It doesn’t matter if your child can say 1000 verses—if they don’t know what the verses mean and won’t remember them in a few weeks, we’ve missed the whole point.
• Be sure you DEFINE words and help your kids understand the meaning behind every single verse they memorize. Again, if we memorize without meaning and understanding, our kids won’t be able to apply Bible verses to their lives. Read more: 5 Ways to Help Your Kids Apply Scripture
• Review the verses you learn regularly. This will help make sure your kids really use the verses to impact their lives. We use the Charlotte Mason memory review system and a simple 3×5 card box.
• ALWAYS always always look up the verses you are learning in the BIBLE before you start learning them. This is critical in helping your kids understand that the Bible has the information they need. If we don’t do this, there is often a disconnect between what we THINK the Bible says and what it actually says.
• Know the reference. Many people will tell you that the reference is extra stress on kids and not necessary. I disagree! If it’s too much to remember the reference, then memorize fewer verses. Again, quality over quantity. In the end, if you don’t know where you live, it’s pretty hard to tell someone else where to find you. The same is true for the Bible.