I’ve only got time for a short post today, but it’s an important one. We’re talking about your WHY today and I have three of them.

Why do we study? Why do we memorize Scripture? Why do we need an understanding of God’s Word?

We study to help us learn. We study to help us gain ground in a subject. We study the Bible to know about God and to make Him known. See Matthew 28:20.

We memorize Scripture because it is our weapon against temptation from the world, the enemy, and the flesh.

• “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)
• For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
• No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. I Corinthians 10:13

I didn’t memorize Scripture as a child. In fact, I had very little Bible training. When I opened the Bible as an adult, it was foreign and overwhelming to me. When I started learning Scripture with my daughter, I saw the benefit of this practice. It equips us to minister to ourselves and others. It gives us promises to replace the lies we want to believe.

However, we need more than a pocket full of verses to share with others when times are hard. We need a deep understanding of the hope that God gives us in reading about people as broken as we are and the Savior who loved them so much He sent His one and only Son to die for us.

We need to understand Scripture to make the worship we offer meaningful. We need to know our Father and His love for us. And you will get that when you start small. And small is enough for God’s word. It’s that rich. It’s that full of hope.

Read Psalm 119 with this in mind. See if you can find the “why” in this Psalm. 

For discussion: Do you think Scripture memory is important?  Why or why not?