Have you been hearing from God? Is it the desire of your heart to hear His Word to you? As we have been examining different ways to facilitate hearing God's voice, they all require you to take some time and cease from the rush and hurry of life. God is not to be something you fit into a busy schedule; He is the "one necessary thing." Today we look at another method to assist you to hear God's voice: memorization. Our society doesn't stress memorization like it used to. I remember when the first calculator came out. It had four functions: add, subtract, multiply and divide. Instantly we all knew even as children if we could use our calculators, math would be easier. With technology advancing, people can put all sorts of information on their phones so that memorization seems unnecessary. However, God uses this practice to keep us away from sin. Psalm 119:11 says: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The verse is encouraging you to remember God's Word, i.e. memorize it, to keep you from sin.
Matthew Poole's Commentary explains the verse as follows: "I have not contented myself with bare hearing or reading thy word, but have received it in the love of it, have diligently pondered it, and laid it up in my mind and memory like a choice treasure, to be ready upon all occasions, to counsel, or comfort, or quicken, or caution me, as need requires; that by a diligent and affectionate consideration of thy precepts, and promises, and threatenings, I might be kept from sinful courses, against which these are the best antidote."
The key to memorization is repetition. You may remember secular songs you learned as a teenager. How can you remember them? You will remember them because you will have repeated them over and over. The same is true with Bible memorization. Select a verse and spend a week repeating it over and over. If you want, sing it to a familiar tune. The most important thing is to get that Word deep in your heart. Know that when you do, God may use this practice to speak to you.
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