EP 85: Memorize Proverbs 3 with Me

The best way I know to “meditate day and night” on the Word of God is to commit large portions of Scripture to memory. Then you’ll always have it with you. Want an easier way to do that? Listen in to Loving Life at Home for a simple, straightforward way to memorize Proverbs 3 with me — the entire chapter.

Memorize Proverbs 3 with Me

full transcript from episode 85

Hello, friend. Welcome to Episode 85 of Loving Life at Home.

I’ve decided to try something new this week after finishing a slim but practical little book by Abigail Martin called the Memorization Toolbox. (I’ll put a link in the show notes, in case you’re interested in reading it too.)

Abigail has memorized several books of the Bible in their entirety and has great ideas for finding motivation to memorize, selecting passages, learning them by heart, reviewing them consistently, even tips for what to do when you feel stuck. The book is concise but thorough, and one I’d recommend to anybody interested in memorizing more scripture.

The author has used many of the same memorization techniques I’ve talked about before, in Episode 28 (which I’ll also link in my notes).

Anyway, after I finished reading that book last week and posting a review in my newsletter, I received the following message from a subscriber (who happens to be the person who recommended Abigail Martin’s book to me in the first place).

Anyway, this online friend wrote:

Hi Jennifer!

Thanks for the Scripture memory encouragement.

I just finished reading Two Tears on the Window by Kevin & Julia Garratt aloud to my children.  The Garratts did Christian NGO work in China for 30 years.  In their early years in China they met blind believers who were in their 90s and had been factory workers all their lives.  One blind lady had memorized the entire Bible by reading it in Braille!

Katie

Isn’t that amazing? I don’t know about you, but I find that testimony to be both incredibly inspiring and downright convicting. If a blind believer can commit the entire Bible to memory by reviewing it over and over again in Braille, what is my excuse for memorizing no more than a few hundred verses?

I can barely even fathom the discipline it took to learn the whole thing by heart!

So…I’m redoubling my efforts to learn more scripture and would like to invite you to join me, if that’s something you’re interested in doing as well.

I’ve actually been working on this as a family project for the past couple of years. One of my grown sons, Samuel, and his wife, Rebekah, sponsor a family challenge every year. I think I may have mentioned that fact to you before, but in 2023, the challenge was to memorize as many Bible verses over the course of 12 months as we could. I won the challenge for sheer volume, though not for presentation – we had some very creative recitations from several of the kids and grandkids.

But I used the $500 prize money to fund ongoing monthly challenges for the kids and grandkids. I sell a couple of print packs on my website , each with a year’s worth of detailed resources in them, including a treasure map to help track the kids’ progress and awards certificates for each passage learned, plus copy work and coloring pages and craft ideas. These have been a hit with our family members, both young and old.

Anyway, last month’s challenge was to memorize Proverbs 3:1-8.

• The 5-and-under crowd only had to quote 2 verses memory (Prov 3:5-6)
• Ages 6-12 were required to learn five (Prov 3:3-7) to get their prize.
• And anybody over 12 had to recite all eight. But there are actually 35 verses in the whole chapter, and I was determined to memorize the whole thing.

I’d learned it years – actually, decades – ago, but without regular review, it is hard to hang onto those verses. So this time, I decided to set it to music.

That helped so much and made memorizing it so much faster! I had set as a goal to learn 8-9 verses a week, so as to finish the whole chapter in a month. But by putting it to a tune, I had all 35 verses down in a little over a week.

So I thought I’d sing it to you, so you can learn it too. It goes like this:

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,/ But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life/ And peace they will add to you.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;/ Bind them around your neck,/ Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good repute/ In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart/ And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,/ And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;/ Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body/ And refreshment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD from your wealth/ And from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty/ And your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD/ Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves,/ Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom/ And the man who gains understanding.
14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver/ And her gain better than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels;/ And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;/ In her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways/ And all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,/ And happy are all who hold her fast.
19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth,/ By understanding He established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up/ And the skies drip with dew.
21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight;/ Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 So they will be life to your soul/ And adornment to your neck.
23 Then you will walk in your way securely/ And your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;/ When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear/ Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;
26 For the LORD will be your confidence/ And will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,/When it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,/ And tomorrow I will give it,”/ When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor,/ While he lives securely beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man without cause,/ If he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence/ And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD;/ But He is intimate with the upright.
33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,/ But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers,/ Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.
35 The wise will inherit honor,/ But fools display dishonor.

In addition to singing the chapter, I picture myself walking through the rooms of my house, looking at different pictures or pieces of furniture or books or carpets for each verse.

This technique is called a “memory palace,” and I explain it in detail in Episode 28, so I won’t rehash it here except to say that it helps me easily keep everything in order  and allows me to quickly identify the reference address for each individual verse.

The nice thing about committing large passages of the Bible to memory is that it makes it easy for you to meditate on God’s Word day and night, as the Psalmist says he does: “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation day and night.”

In the case of Proverbs 3, as I was thinking about verse 9, “Honor the LORD from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce,” I started contemplating the fact that time is the most valuable asset any of us have.

And then I started thinking about how can I honor God with the very first part of that treasure. I’ve long set aside time in the morning for Bible reading and prayer, but it isn’t the very first thing I do every day. I normally use the bathroom, and take a shower, and visit with my husband, and fix his breakfast and maybe even drink a big cup of tea before I sit down to have my quiet time.

But reviewing memory verses? That’s something I can start doing immediately, just as soon as I wake up. I can review them as I use the bathroom, brush my teeth, take a shower, make my breakfast. Again, that’s the beauty of committing God’s Word to memory. You don’t have to have the Bible spread open on your lap to ruminate on it and pray about it and find ways to apply it to every facet of your life.

So I hope you’ll give all that a try. Let me know if you do. I may share more scripture songs in the future if you find them helpful.

More Bible Memory Help

Want a month-by-month plan filled with resources to make hiding God’s Word in your heart a habit? Check out my new Grand Investment print packs.

I’ve packed both volumes full of pretty, pertinent printables: copywork and coloring pages, award certificates, and tracking charts, along with links to videos and songs I’ve used both in memorizing Bible passages myself and in encouraging my kids and grandkids to do the same.