Is it possible to memorize the Bible?
In a word, yes.
Especially if you have my 8 Step Bible Memorization Plan.
But you might be wondering if examples of people who have done it exist?
If so, how did they break down the chapters and verses?
What kind of time did they have to spend on a weekly basis?
Are there any best practices or ways to start that guarantee success?
All of these are very important questions, all of which are covered on this page.
You’ll also discover the most important memory techniques that will help you get the job done. Practically.
I’ll also share some inspiring examples, including two from my students. All of these case studies provide you with insight, resources and mnemonic tools that will support your Bible memory journey.
Since time is ticking and the Bible is a big book, let’s dig in.
5 Impressive Examples of High-Level Bible Memorization
Not only is it possible to memorize the entire Bible.
You can actually watch people who have memorized scripture recite it. Live.
One: The Actor Who Performs the Gospel of Mark Live
Ashley Strand, for example, is an actor who performs the Book of Mark in front of audiences. His recitation is fascinating to watch.
When I wanted to know how long it took to memorize a large book of the Bible like this, Ashley kindly shared his time.
Watch this interview to learn his best strategies and learn exactly how long it took him to memorize the Book of Mark in this interview:
One of the most interesting aspects of Ashley’s approach is the role of interpretation.
In other words, while memorizing, Strand performs a lot of reflective thinking. By working on his comprehension of the meaning of the Scripture, his memory for the words grows.
Two: The Monk Who Recited Scripture Backwards
The Renaissance Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci is said to have reciteed entire books forward and backwards.
In fact, he traveled from Italy to China with a special kind of “polyglot” Bible that contained the text in multiple languages. But it’s not known if this is one of the books Ricci was able to recite from memory.
To learn more about this person and his memory techniques, check out The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci.
Three: Bible Memory Man
Tom Meyer’s claim to fame is the ability to recite twenty books of the Bible. This is an impressive feat.
In this video, he recites the Book of Revelation from memory:
Meyer’s accomplishment boils down to standard mnemonic practices:
- Reading aloud while forming mnemonic images
- Listening to the Bible in audio format (ideally performed dramatically)
- Writing out memorized verses by hand (a form of spaced repetition)
- Using ancient memory techniques, particularly the kind used by rabbis
For more on how rabbis memorized, check out a book called Where Did Noah Park the Ark?
You can also check out Meyer’s own Memorization Study Bible.
Four: Charles Matlock’s “Photographic Memory”
There are a few reports of Charles Matlock being able to recite called for verses as a radio guest.
In one article, Matlock is quoted as saying that memorizing scripture fulfils the mind.
But is he really using photographic memory? Given the pseudoscientific nature of that term, probably not.
However, since he says he’s been memorizing scripture since the age of 12, he may have benefited from some eidetic memory effects. At least in the beginning.
Five: The Walking Bible, Jack Van Impe
Jack van Impe has impressed many people with his ability to memorize scripture – but not everyone. According to an article on his website, he’s been told that reciting the Bible makes his preaching sound stilted.
Although it’s not known exactly how much of the Bible Van Impe has memorized, his website says that flashcards are his go-to technique. He then uses a four month spaced repetition review pattern.
What Does Memorizing the Bible Mean in Practice?
Although I’ve searched far and wide, I could not find a single example of someone reciting the entire Bible from memory.
I’m not surprised. Reciting the entire book would take a very long time.
In fact, the David Suchtet audiobook rendition is 83 hours and 14 minutes.
Reality Check
Given that it would take that long to recite the Bible, we can do a calculation and expect that verbatim memorization would require different amounts of time based on how much daily work you put in:
- Approximately 85 years at 1 verse per day
- 20 years at 5 verses per day
- 4-5 years at 20 verses per day
For this reason, I often recommend that my students start by focusing on a smaller set of verses. For example, I’ve selected these 25 verses to memorize because they relate to the theme of memory.
One a goal has been selected, the most practical path is to memorize one book at a time with spaced repetition given a premium.
Impressive Example of a Focused Bible Memory Student
For example, Mike McKinley shared his progress with memorizing the Psalms on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast a few years ago.
He worked on a few lines each morning and quickly memorized nearly seventy psalms. This is a massive accomplishment.
But it also means that Mike was willing to focus on the principle that “less is more” in order to make substantial progress.
Fro this reason, I suggest that your own Bible memory project should be tighly defined and then tackled using the best possible approaches.
Let’s have a look at some of the best memory strategies and more case studies you can model.
4 Bible Memorization Techniques
By looking at some of the people who have memorized large parts of the Bible, I’ve already linked you to some of the best strategies.
But there are a few more, and you can see their efficacy for yourself in this video demonstration from my student, Matt Barclay.
He used a combination of the techniques we’re about to discuss.
In Matt’s case, he needed to focus a lot on working memory due to the cardiac arrest he suffered. By focusing on the right overall ways to increase memory power, he succeeded.
One: The Memory Palace Technique
A Memory Palace strategy for remembering the Bible is by far the most powerful approach.
I can’t say for sure, but when Tom Meyer says that he uses a technique from the Rabbis, this is probably what he’s talking about.
I’ve only memorized small amounts of the Bible myself. But I’ve used the Memory Palace to memorize almost an entire book in Sanskrit. I demonstrated some of it in this Tedx Talk, which itself was memorized using a Memory Palace.
The technique works simply by allowing you to place associations along a journey.
Then, when you want to recall the verses, you think about those associations and where they exist.
For more insight, listen to this interview with Ronald Johnson where we talk about his use of the Memory Palace technique for scripture.
Two: A Powerful Number System
Although you can memorize scripture without knowing the number of each verse, many people like to know that information.
The good news is that you can use these memory techniques to commit verse numbers to memory quickly:
A well-formed PAO System will likely be best, paired with a pre-numbered Memory Palace.
In the Memory Palace example above, each station has a number. Using a 00-99 PAO System, this means that each station already has a mnemonic image on it.
So when I memorized Proverbs 7:2, I placed an image of a guard on the seventh station.
The great thing with this approach is you can layer on different versions of a verse. In one version, Proverbs 7:2, we read, “Guard my words as your most precious possession. Write them down and also keep them deep within your heart.”
In another version, the verse runs, “Keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.”
By giving the image of a guard an apple, it’s possible to remember both versions.
Using Mnemonic Compression in Memory Palaces
When memorizing Scripture, you don’t always have to memorize each word.
In fact, trying to do so can cause issues.
According to Zipf’s law, the vast majority of what scripture memorizers encounter boils down to words like :
- the
- and
- if
- but
- they
- them
- he, she, it, etc.
If you look at the example above of using pews in a church to memorize a prayer, every word is represented.
With compression, however, you could reduce the text down to:
- Will
- Kingdom
- Hallowed
- Father
- Heaven
By leaving our “small” words like “our” and “in,” your brain can focus on the larger words. It can be challenging to believe that your memory will fill in the gaps later, but it will with practice.
In fact, as scientific studies on memory and Bible memorization has shown, your brain will benefit from memorizing even just a little bit of the text. Sure, people who had memorized the Quran in its entirety showed larger grey and white matter. But know that everyone who spends time memorizing scripture wins.
Three: Share the Adventure
I mentioned Matt Barclay above.
Ever since he took the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass and share his incredible demonstration of reciting Psalms from the top of his head, he’s been sending me pictures of his Bible memory class.
Now, you might think… what does teaching memory techniques have to do with memorizing the Bible?
A lot, it turns out.
We find time and again that people who are willing to teach these techniques to others come to understand them better.
As a result, they’re able to use them better.
Plus, people who memorize scripture get extra practice in reciting what they’ve memorized from memory.
As for the exact group Bible memorization techniques Matt uses, he told me that meeting consistently is the key. The only catch is that each member also needs to consistently use the memory techniques in their private lives.
If individual members don’t, they can really bring the group down.
One way to avoid having people who aren’t serious about memorizing the Bible in your group is to charge a fee. Or you can ask them to memorize a few verses in advance of joining to prove their seriousness.
Four: Choose The Best Bible Memorization Plans
Whether you memorize the Bible in a group or work entirely on your own, you need to choose a solid plan.
One obvious plan is to simply memorize the Bible in order, from Genesis to Revelations. That will obviously be harder than selecting a variety of verses, but it is an option.
You can also follow a program like the Topical Memory System which comes with Memory Verse Cards. Although this particular approach doesn’t work very well for me, I have a copy and its worth going through their suggestions for how to “Hide God’s Word in Your Heart.”
Frankly, I’m not sure why they advise you to hide it, but they aren’t advising memorizing the entire Bible. Rather, they have selected a number of verses and give them to you in different Biblical translations to give you better confidence in witnessing.
They may be onto something with this approach, however. There’s a learning process called interleaving that shows when you rotate between different content types, you remember more.
Is Memorizing The Bible The Same As Understanding It?
Here’s a question that might change how you think about memorizing the Bible.
It’s one suggested by Tony Payne’s Learn the Gospel.
In this book, Payne makes a point that relates to Ashley Strand’s success with the Book of Mark. Payne suggests that memory starts with understanding.
I would add to his suggestion another layer. Let’s say you’re stuck thinking about the Old vs. New Testament. Which is more challenging?
Well, the length of these texts provides the direct answer. But when it comes to understanding these parts of the Bible, the answer is that you need to understand both. This will require accurate memorization and holistic learning at a much larger scale.
It’s totally doable, but it’s important to ask the right questions so you can avoid the man common pitfalls in Bible memorization.
Overcoming Challenges in Memorizing Scripture
Let’s talk now about some of the challenges you might face when memorizing your memory verses. They’re all fairly easy to overcome.
The first is overwhelm.
For that, I recommend starting small and keeping things small. Chunking is a legitimate memory strategy that proves taking things one small bit at a time works.
Next, don’t feel like you have to memorize the entire Bible.
Instead, I usually tell my one-on-one coaching students to select the passages that will make them feel closer to God.
Finally, don’t feel like you have to memorize the Bible in English.
As I share in this detailed case study, I chose to memorize the Book of John in Latin.
Remember when I talked about dealing with all those little words above? It turns out that when you memorize scripture in other languages, those challenges are a lot easier and more rewarding.
After all, who doesn’t want to learn another language? It’s one of the most rewarding things you can do, and all the more so when you can talk about scripture with people from different cultures.
Your Memory Capacity For Bible Verses Is Unlimited
Although I don’t think taking on the entire Bible is the best strategy, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
The human brain has more than enough space.
It’s time that limits us, not the amount of information.
So I suggest making each moment count by being highly selective about the exact verses you choose. If being selective was good enough for the polymathic Thomas Jefferson when he produced the Jefferson Bible, it’s good enough for me.
By getting started with small and focused goals, you’ll get the best benefits that the science of Bible memorization shows is possible. And you’ll be able to reflect on the best possible wisdom for solace, insight and personal growth.
If you’d like more help with the most powerful memory techniques available, grab my FREE Memory Improvement Course now:
It will teach you the basics of the same strategy Matt Barclay used to complete his Bible memorization goal.
Once you’ve got your first set of scriptures down, you’ll already know a lot about how to tackle the next round. All without an ounce of worry or concern that you have to cover the entire book.
Should you start to fret, just memorize Nemehiah 8:10. “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Enjoy having his word in your mind and heart thanks to the simple techniques we discussed today!
