Building a Wall, Scripture Memory

I love the Old Testament! There is so much in it to cherish and encourage and warn us about in those inspired writings. One of my favorite books is Nehemiah. I once led a bible study from Nehemiah because there are beautiful themes and truths to be found there. I truly fell in love with Nehemiah as a brand new Christian at the age of 18 when on a Mission Trip right after high school in Venezuela. I memorized a verse that pops into my head routinely when I need an attitude adjustment, or a focus for my nervous energy.

That very verse popped into my head as I was writing out the chore charts for the cleaning and I would love to share it with you: “So built they the walls unto the half thereof, for the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6) So I wrote this verse out and placed it on the kitchen cabinets telling the crew, “This is our verse for today. Our motivation and encouragement.”

You see, I have been trying to make up where I have failed thus far in my parenting, and yes, I do believe it is a failure. The Bible is clear that God expects from me, a Christian mother, Godly children (Mal 2:15). How can I be teaching them what Scripture prescribes if they aren’t committing any verses to memory? And let me tell you, they are at the age to memorize large amounts of facts. Why am I not tapping this thirst for the Lord? I have already seen the effect of my own Scripture memory from years ago as it has built a wall of Spiritual safety around me as an adult.

There are verses that I memorized as a new Christian fresh out of high school that still come back to me for encouragement, reproof, correction, and peace. Memorizing scripture may seem tedious and boring, honestly there are times that it is. But the benefit comes when the storm clouds roll in and I stumble along my path of pain when James 1:2-8 plays through my mind as both encouragement and reproof for my whining. Or when a big task looms before me and I remember the study of the Israelites who returned from exile and neglected to rebuild the wall because they were way too concerned with their own homes. They were self-centered and self focused, neglecting the walled defense of their city and neglecting to build a house for the Lord. Nehemiah 4:6 looms up to encourage me to put my shoulder to the task and get your hands dirty. Nehemiah came along to encourage them to work together and be strong in their task, mostly in order to finish the house of the Lord for worship. They put their backs into it and built the wall in an amazingly short time…because the people had a mind to work.

They are already cramming their heads full of information..make room for Scripture.

You can start teaching your children memory verses now. When our children were young, they would peck slowly through the verse we were working on, with much help. But they were learning! My logical minded son had them down in a day while my younger sons struggle for a few days till they had it down pat! We spent nearly a week on each verse, going line by line, together and individually. We would also run through the verses we had already memorized before moving on to a new one. Repetition is the key and putting verses to tune is a wonderful tool. Remember to go slowly, repeat it often, and allow for age/developmental issues. But do teach them. They are already cramming their heads full of information…make room for Scripture!

We chose for our first memory work the Roman Road. Hubby chose this because in his occupation, explaining his faith and leading people through the Gospel is what he does almost daily.

The Romans Road:

• Romans 3:23
• Romans 6:23
• Romans 5:8
• Romans 10:9
• Romans 5:1
• Romans 8:1

Help them to memorize God’s word and they will already be doing what the Bible says: keep the Word close to your mouth and heart. (Romans 10:8) Click on this link to download a PDF of the Roman Road to assist you in memorization.