Day 14: Notice first words {Tools for memorizing}

TO MEMORIZE

Repeat 3-5 times, twice a day.

2  “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
3  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Isaiah 12:2-3 (ESV)

Practice using 1st letters, twice a day.

2  “B, G i m s; I w t, a w n b a; f t L G i m s a m s, a h h b m s.”
3  W j y w d w f t w o s.

TO REVIEW

1  You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”
Isaiah 12:1 (ESV)

1  Y w s i t d: “I w g t t y, O L, f t y w a w m, y a t a, t y m c m.”

TO DO

1. Notice first words.

Sometimes it’s difficult to move from verse to verse once it’s time to link verses together. If someone will just give you the first word, you can go from there. So occasionally I’ll mentally note the first words of each verse.

For Isaiah 12, the first words (or two) are:

1. You
2. Behold
3. With
4. And you
5. Sing
6. Shout

But isn’t that useless information to memorize? If you spend a lot of time learning it, yes. But looking at it now and again may be all you need to lock it in, getting you over the hump.

2. Look for patterns or repetition.

For example, in Isaiah 12:2, there are 4 “s” words that describe who God is to us (with “salvation” twice—at the beginning and end).

• salvation
• strength
• song
• salvation

I also notice this pattern in verse 2: God is ___; I will ___, for God is ___.

These are small things, but once you notice them, it makes the words a little stickier.

3. Practice all verses with Scripture Typer.

Type in the newest verses first until you can memorize them. Then review all the verses together so you can start stringing them properly.

TODAY’S TIP

* Write it down.

I don’t always take the time to write down these patterns and repetitions that I notice. But when I do write them down, I’m far more likely to be helped by them, even if I don’t come back to read them again. It only takes a minute, but it can increase your memory potential by a lot.

FINAL WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

I’m throwing lots of tidbits of information at you this month. Don’t get overwhelmed by them. Take any, all, or none. I don’t use them all with every chapter I memorize.

The main thing is to stay prioritized on the Lord, not on your progress with the words. We don’t want to miss the big picture of who God is because we were too focused on the details of an alphabet. This week’s verses are real faith-builders. Let’s find joy through them.

LINKS

• 5 helps for memorizing Bible verses

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Is one thing helping you the most? Please share in the comments.

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