Psalm 104:33-34
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.
by Rachel Eernisse, leader of Scripture Speakers and author of “Speaking Scripture.”
Soap bubbles swarmed my fingers as I dipped dirty dishes into the frothy water. Warbling notes of praise songs came blaring from my joyful heart and out my wide-open mouth. Keys were changed often and at random, proper tempo was ignored—I was making joyful noise to the Lord! Such was the scene in my house each time I had dish duty during my growing up years.
Things have changed a little bit now that I’m a grown-up married woman. For one thing, the Lord sent a husband my way who actually knows what musical keys are and gently but firmly guided me to stick with one, the right one, for the entirety of a song. “Joyful noise” has, thankfully, become a less humorous description of my praise-song experience. I do so enjoy belting out praises even still.
Another way things have changed for my dish scene is that I tend to use the time for Scripture memory review rather than a praise fest. After I became a mom, I found it very difficult to find a focused time to work on Scripture memory. However, dishes always need to be washed, and the washing does not require my mind or mouth. This has become my favorite time to meditate in God’s Word through Scripture memory and recitation.
Now, usually, I speak the Words of God rather than sing them. I speak them with delight and I savor this time to meditate in them. But sometimes my voice is already a tired from a full day of mothering or my energy levels are depleted. When this happens, I still desire that precious time in Scripture and need to use a new method to enjoy God’s Word. This is when the dish scene looks a little more like the original, loud dish scenes of my childhood; because thankfully, there are many wonderful musical resources to meditate in God’s Word today. I can look up a passage set to music and blast it out of my kitchen speakers, ready to worship, meditate, and wash those ever-present dishes.
A Scripture Memory Secret
For me, musical methods of memorization tend to be a back up to my usual method, or an option I can use to mix things up for the day. However, memorizing Scripture with music has a special advantage over the rote memorization that I, and many other Christians, use. Like Rose Wittenmeyer from “By the Book” explains, memorizing a passage by rote repetition means that the brain must make memory connections for each individual word. Memorizing by song, however, means the brain only needs to connect the first words, and the entire song follows in memory. “When your brain is memorizing rote, your brain has to remember every single word and the order that it comes in. Versus, when you’re memorizing to music, it’s categorized in a different part of your brain … the first word needs to be triggered and everything else kind of comes as a big chunk” (“Episode 39: Memorizing as a Family (Ft. Rose Wittenmeyer)”).
Rose loves to share the testimony of her mother who desired to memorize Proverbs 31. The challenge her mother faced was that a brain tumor had recently been removed that also affected the part of her brain that processed speech and memory. However, because music is processed by a different part of the brain, Mrs. Wittenmeyer was able to memorize the whole chapter of Proverbs 31 when her children set it to music for her.
David Newquist has also written about the way music affects memory in the brain in great detail, sharing on his own ministry’s website that, “Areas of the brain that control language, emotion, breathing/heart rate, hearing, vision, rhythm, movement, long term memory and behavior are all impacted by music…” (Newquist). By incorporating more of your brain with the memory process, you can make much stronger memories of Scripture passages. Singing along with Scripture also takes a less concerted, focused effort to memorize and review a passage than rote memorization or other common methods. David likes to say that the reason he loves to sing Scripture is because “the meditation is automatic.”
A Help in Times of Drought
There is another very special aspect of memorizing Scripture with music that goes beyond the strength of our long-term memories. When we are in rough seasons of life, we often end up facing a time of spiritual drought as well. It’s so unfortunate that as the pressures of life build, we can end up setting aside the Scripture we so desperately need to face that pressure well. It just feels as if we don’t have the mental fortitude or emotional capacity to reach out and dwell in the Scriptures for ourselves. There are several ways to overcome these times of drought, but my personal favorite has been to turn on the praise music. Just listening to the hope found in these songs that share God’s truth starts to trickle a little bit of spiritual strength into my being. It helps satisfy my spiritual thirst enough to lead me into the next steps of prayer and biblical meditation. How much more powerful can this musical help be when the words of the song are the very living and powerful words of Scripture itself?
Not only is listening to Scripture set to music a wonderful way to climb out of a spiritual drought, it is also a wonderful way to avoid or overcome Scripture memory burnout. Scripture memory burnout is what happens when a memorizer has been working hard at Scripture memory, and then, because of overworking in memory or because of greater life trials, the memorizer becomes too fatigued to continue in memorizing Scripture. Scripture memory usually involves a fair amount of work, and it can be easy to be overwhelmed by this aspect of the memory process. However, taking time to try new methods of Scripture memory can break up the possible monotony of rote work and breathe fresh life into our motivation to memorize. Scripture memory songs, because they take less work and “the meditation is automatic,” can be the perfect way for a burnt-out memorizer to dwell in the Scriptures again.
But My Passage Isn’t Musical?
As you look through the recommended ministries below you might be dismayed to find that the passage you are working on has not been set to music yet. Or perhaps the musicality of the available Scripture melody for your passage is one that you don’t enjoy, and for that reason, is not one you want to listen to on repeat. The good news is that you can make up your own tunes as you memorize your passage. Here’s even better news: it doesn’t matter if your own tune is musically masterful or if you are more prone to warbling, off-key singing. Just as Zach Fitzsimmons said in an interview with Bible Memory Goal, “… it really doesn’t matter especially if your purpose is … ‘I want to just soak in this Psalm in a new way through music.’ Basically whatever comes out that connects with your heart, that’s a win” (“How to Memorize the Psalms Easily W/ Songs (Ft. Zac Fitzsimmons)”).
Not only can you make up your own tunes for memorizing Scripture, but there is an advantage in doing so. It takes more focused effort and makes the experience more personal, and both aspects make the memories stick more effectively. Leah Carolan, ministry leader of Radiant Venture, shared with me that meditation is a big part of her writing process with new Scripture songs, and the writing process is the joy of the whole experience. She said that it’s during the writing of new songs that she usually memorizes the verses in them. So, if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for in musical memorization ministries, start singing your own versions and be blessed as you do so!
Recommended Musical Ministries
Musical ministries abound in our modern Christian communities, making this a wonderful time to discover a musical ministry that best fits your own Scripture memory journey. There are many more than are listed here, but these are the ministries that stand out to me as I’ve looked for options. For an even larger list, you can check out BibleGateway’s page on the topic HERE.
Awana – Spotify – multiple translations available. Awana is a ministry of discipleship for children that’s centered in Scripture memorization. Awana has weeknight clubs that meet all around the world where leaders teach children about the Bible, play games with them, and help them memorize Scripture. All the Awana verses included in their weekly curriculum from preschool to second grade are set to music. They also have Scripture songs for an older curriculum they’ve since replaced for grades 3-6. All of them feature children singing simple tunes and would mostly appeal to children. However, parents will appreciate knowing that the tunes have variety and are not repetitive in a way that tends to drive us crazy. Awana.org
The Bible Song – YouTube, Spotify – mixed translations (see website for explanation). The Bible Song is a ministry of David Newquist who has managed the incredible feat of composing music for the entire New Testament. He is continuing to produce the music that’s already been written, and large portions of the New Testament are already available to listen to. The musicality is varied and is written for adults, although children enjoy singing along as well. What stands out in The Bible Song is that the compositions are written for meditation as well as memorization, and whole passages are sung through rather than being broken down into repetitive pieces. biblesong.com
By the Book – Vimeo, downloads – ESV. Ministry of the Wittenmeyers, includes Scripture memory camps and music videos. Their music videos, called “Schmideos,” are made with catchy tunes for verses that are accompanied by engaging visual aspects. The Schmideos are a memory system for memorizing whole books of the Bible. They started with producing music and videos that appeals to children and have been recently producing music more appealing to adults. bythebookthebible.com.
Project of Love – YouTube, Spotify – Xander Stok is a professional singer-songwriter who is writing the entire Bible to contemporary music word for word in the New Living Translation. He has already made a great amount of progress including all of Isaiah and releases a new passage song every week. His songs include some repetition within the passage and have a very meditative, reflective focus. Projectoflove.com
Psalm Songs Word for Word – YouTube, Spotify – Zach Fitzsimmons is a professional worship leader and song writer. He is currently setting all the Psalms to music in the ESV translation so they can be sung again in corporate worship. Individuals will also enjoy listening, singing along, and memorizing the Psalms in this way. psalmsongswordforword.com
Radiant Venture – YouTube – Ministry of Leah Carolan, a professional worship leader and song writer who also writes Scripture memory verse songs. Leah started writing fun songs for her children to memorize with, and then realized that adults should have Scripture memory songs too! She has many songs available including several curated collections of verses. Her songs are written word for word in the ESV translation and are varied in musical style with a meditative focus. Radiantventure.com
Scripture Memory Fellowship – Spotify and CD – My favorite Scripture memory resource maker, Scripture Memory Fellowship is a wonderful ministry that produces a podcast, hosts a summer camp, and publishes many guided journals for Scripture memory. They also have produced several Scripture memory music CDs, mostly for children, that are also available to listen to on Spotify. scripturememory.com
Seeds Family Worship – YouTube, Spotify, CDs – A full ministry of contemporary music for family worship time focused on Scripture memory songs. They also produce music videos with their Scripture memory songs that include dancing with hand motions to help solidify the memories. Seedsfamilyworship.com
Sing the Word – CDs and MP3 – A family ministry of traditional music for Scripture songs. They use a variety of translations, usually NASB, KJV, and NKJV. There are several song collections available on their website and each collection targets a different range of ages. Singtheword.com
Works Cited
“Episode 39: Memorizing as a Family (Ft. Rose Wittenmeyer).” Www.youtube.com, Scripture Memory Podcast, 1 Sept. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXQBVoWeRA8&t=1028s. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.
“How to Memorize the Psalms Easily W/ Songs (Ft. Zac Fitzsimmons).” Www.youtube.com, Bible Memory Goal, 17 Feb. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm\_iEC-RZNI&t=652s. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.
Newquist, David. “History and Science of the Bible Song.” Biblesong.com, Word 4 Word Ministries, www.biblesong.com/about/history-of-the-bible-song/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.