“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” — Psalm 119:11
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Right after I became a Christian as a high school rugby player, I got discipled by a youth ministry leader named Tom Sayer. Tom played second-string defensive end at the University of California at Berkeley and taught me how to grow physically by lifting weights. He also taught me how to grow spiritually by studying the Bible.
One evening, as we met for our weekly Bible study, I shared how I was struggling with a particular temptation. Tom asked me if I had ever memorized Bible verses, and he then pointed me to two passages that dealt with my particular temptation.
In Psalm 119:11 (above), we learn that the writer hid God’s Word in his heart so that he might not sin against God. Hiding God’s Word in our heart can help us overcome temptation. So Tom encouraged me to hide God’s Word in my heart by memorizing Bible verses. I memorized those two verses he shared with me that day, and I still know them from memory today.
Memorizing the Bible, whether a verse or an entire chapter, is a spiritual discipline that helps us grow spiritually. Matthew 5, John 3, Romans 8 and 2 Corinthians 5 are great places to start. Memorize select Proverbs or Psalms like Psalm 23, 51 or 121. Read and reread verses, memorize them, and in so doing you’ll hide God’s Word in your heart. When His Word is planted in your heart and you are living in accordance with what it says, you can walk in the fullness of what He has for you.
— Ikki Soma, Iowa Wolves chaplain
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