Unlocking the Power of God’s Word: Teaching Children to Memorize Scripture

As parents, it is our responsibility to educate our children on the Word of God. We must understand, too, that despite all this effort; they will still make mistakes. After all, we live in a broken world, and no one can escape sinning. Yet, by equipping them with scripture and prayer throughout their childhood and teen years, being mindful of the stewardship placed before us, there is hope that eventually these lessons take root. The Bible even says it will not return void. Much trust has been put into us as caregivers for God's children; but never forget who ultimately carries out His plan according to His will!

1. Why is memorizing scripture important for kids?

2. Tips for memorizing scripture with your kids

3. How to use scripture to pray

4. Free Psalm 23 coloring page and verse page

Why is memorizing scripture important for kids? 

1. It increases their understanding of the Bible. 

Memorizing scripture helps children to learn essential values and truths that are God-breathed and provide guidance and direction for their lives. It is a great way to help young ones understand the Bible and its teachings more deeply, so they can grow in faith, wisdom, and understanding of God's love and character. Their faith will grow in the seeds of scripture planted!  

2. It prepares them to be disciples that go into the world and make disciples.

By instilling scripture into the minds of children, we can foster a generation equipped to bring Christ's love and grace out into their lives in such a way that they become powerful messengers, ready and equipped to spread hope, faith and love into a broken world. In this manner, our future generations will be able to continue carrying on God’s work and impact the Kingdom of Heaven! #raisingkingdomimpacters

3. It prepares them for adversity. 

The Bible gives us what we need to arm ourselves when facing difficult circumstances in life. It provides comfort and guidance. By teaching our children its principles, we can ensure they have the necessary tools to fight the battles of life and remain victorious as they trust in Him.  

4. It impacts their prayer life. 

Instilling scripture within our children not only sharpens their minds, but also enriches and enhances the way they communicate with God through prayer.  When our children are filled with the Word of God, their prayer lives become more powerful and lead to a deeper intimacy with Christ. 

5. It carries on through generations.

Deuteronomy 20:5 says the sins of the father are carried down to the 3rd and 4th generations. There are consequences for, not only our sins, but also our lack of following God's command to teach our children these things. As consequences trickle down through generations; so also does our close discipleship of our family. The only way to change the pattern of courageous faith lived out in the lives of our family is in teaching our kids not to survive the world by being like it, but instead impact it - for the Kingdom! This takes intentional parenting, and is the most important of all the callings you will ever have in this life!

Tips for memorizing scripture with your kids

When I first started, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, especially with a wide range in ages of my kiddoes. I grew up memorizing scripture, and honestly should have been doing a better job of teaching my kids over the years. I made the decision to do better at getting God’s Word into my heart and the heart’s of my children. We pray together as a family before going to bed most nights; and I thought that’d be a good time to begin memorizing scripture. We started with Psalms 23, which is a perfect place to begin memorizing with your kids because there are only six simple, but powerful verses. We usually memorize scripture in the evenings, when we meet on our bed to pray before going to sleep. It's a perfect time because we are settling down for the night and praying after. We sometimes do a short Bible study, then pray. It just depends on the night.

When  memorizing scripture with your kids, there doesn’t have to be an in depth study of the verses or chapter. The most important thing is to begin getting the Word into their minds and hearts. However, it is helpful to give a brief explanation of what it means. Psalms 23 is a psalm of David. There’s a good chance, they know who David is! Making that connection for them allows future connections as they study the Word. David was a shepherd before he ever fought Goliath, before he ever became a king, before he was used to guide people. He protected sheep. And Psalm 23 is a short psalm where David talked about how the Lord is his shepherd and what that’s like over his life. Just have fun with it, and your kids will too!

1. Depending on their age, read the chapter or verse all the way through the first time.
2. Begin with a verse or phrase to memorize.
3. Explain what it means in easy to understand terms. (*Keep the Word in context!) 
4. Say a phrase or verse, and have them repeat after. Do that again. Then say it altogether a couple times.
5. The next day, let them try and remember themselves. Then do it together a couple times again.
6. Make sure they have it down before moving on to the next verse. If they’ve got it, go on!
7. Don’t be afraid to make up tunes to memorize scripture. You can sing, clap, or dance it out. You can simply memorize it with them at everyone’s pace. Other ways that can aid in helping them memorize it is to write it out and post it on the wall or fridge where everyone can see and read it. You can print off a coloring sheet that goes with it for them to color, just for fun. Tracing or writing the scripture can be helpful too, especially for writing practice if you homeschool. We generally just memorize before we pray at night before bed.
8. Again, make it fun! If you make it into a chore or get upset if they aren’t getting it as quickly as you’d like, they will feel defeated and give up too easily. It’s not about how quickly they learn it. It’s about creating a relationship with Jesus; and we do that through reading and keeping God’s Word, and through prayer. I find my kids randomly reciting scripture, and they even get a Bible and practice together, without me telling them too. That’s a precious way to know they are treasuring His Word in their hearts! 
9. Bonus! Show your kids how to use scripture to pray. - Pray with your kids! If that's something new for your family, you can read 'Creating Meaningful Moments: Starting a Family Prayer Time'.

Memorizing scripture is good for praying scripture.

When it comes to learning how to pray, the Bible is the best place to turn. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

1. The Word of God tells us what we need to know about prayer.
2. It teaches us how to pray.
3. It also gives us access to incredible prayers from God’s people long ago.

The Bible is packed with powerful prayers from past heroes of the faith. There are prayers of praise, thanksgiving, victory, and loss. There are prayers crying out to God for help; and there are words of hope in the Lord and faith through the trials of life. 

If we are being honest, there are times when life is heavy and wearisome, and we can struggle to find the words to say on our own. The good news is that we have God breathed scripture available to us. Whether we use it in addition to our personal prayers, or when we feel at loss for words, we can take hold of the scripture and speak God’s truth back to Him. God never fails, which means His Word never fails. We can open it and find that it will always be true, lifegiving, and affective over our lives even today. 

Click here for a two page FREEBIE! - A Psalm 23 coloring page and a page with the full Psalm 23 to memorize!

So how do we use scripture when we are praying to God? 

We first have to have it hidden in our hearts. We need to know what the Bible says, in order for it to be useful for us. 

Teaching our kiddos how to use scripture when praying is a great way to get the Word of God into their minds and hearts.

Praying scripture is really as simple as it sounds! Find some scripture to pray. Psalms has a lot incredible verses to pray. You can say it just as it is, and it’s perfect! You can also change phrases such as, “The Lord is my shepherd” to “Lord, You are...”, such as in Psalms 23, because you are speaking directly to Him! 

“Lord, You are my Shepherd. I have what I need. You let me lie down in green pastures. You lead me beside quiet waters. You renew my life. You lead me along the right paths, for Your name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, as long as I live. Amen!”

Praying with your kids can be awkward at first, especially if you haven’t ever done it and if you feel like prayer is something you lack consistency in your life. Here’s the thing though, if you wait until you feel like you are consistent and strong in your prayer life, they will never learn to pray. It isn’t about being perfect or having the most intellectual prayer. It’s about the line of communication that prayer gives us to our Father. It’s about teaching our kids the power of prayer. They need to see and hear you pray!

Kids who are taught how to properly study and engage with scripture will be better equipped to face life’s challenges as they come up. They will be able to look to the Bible for wisdom and guidance, allowing them to draw closer to God. By providing children with a firm foundation in His Word, parents are helping them cultivate a lasting relationship with the Lord.

Leave a comment with some fun ways that you memorize scripture with your kids.

I’m praying for you, mama!