Memorizing the Verses of God
8 Asma 163 B.E. – 27, 2006 A.D.
It is interesting what terminology stays with a person from childhood. When I was growing up my parents and grand parents referred to the first section of the Bible as the Old Testament and the second section as the New Testament. In Sunday School, I memorized scriptures from both sections, but today I remember only “The Lord is my Shepherd” and “The Lord’s Prayer”, which were both my favorites.
I can remember standing on the stage in front of the entire congregation and reciting:
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Those verses, from the King James Version of the Bible, were the first lines of spiritual poetry I learned by heart.
At the time I learned the 23rd Psalms, I was attending Vacation Bible School at the Southern Baptist Mission in Blackwell, Oklahoma. I’m not sure how old I was when I memorized this Psalms, maybe in the first grade or earlier. I know that Vacation Bible School had classes for children as young as four or five.
I remember learning those verses with relative ease. It isn’t that way today, I’m attempting to learn a prayer by Baha’u’llah and I’m having a difficult time memorizing. It seem memorization gets harder as we get older. However, memorization isn’t impossible for those of us past [put in whatever age you want here], it just takes longer. I’ve found that as I mature, I have to read the prayer I’m memorizing several times a day. The advantage to this is that I now have to take several “prayer breaks” from writing and composing, which helps my muse and creativity.
It is interesting what terminology stays with a person from childhood. When I was growing up my parents and grand parents referred to the first section of the Bible as the Old Testament and the second section as the New Testament. In Sunday School, I memorized scriptures from both sections, but today I remember only “The Lord is my Shepherd” and “The Lord’s Prayer”, which were both my favorites.
I can remember standing on the stage in front of the entire congregation and reciting:
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Those verses, from the King James Version of the Bible, were the first lines of spiritual poetry I learned by heart.
At the time I learned the 23rd Psalms, I was attending Vacation Bible School at the Southern Baptist Mission in Blackwell, Oklahoma. I’m not sure how old I was when I memorized this Psalms, maybe in the first grade or earlier. I know that Vacation Bible School had classes for children as young as four or five.
I remember learning those verses with relative ease. It isn’t that way today, I’m attempting to learn a prayer by Baha’u’llah and I’m having a difficult time memorizing. It seem memorization gets harder as we get older. However, memorization isn’t impossible for those of us past [put in whatever age you want here], it just takes longer. I’ve found that as I mature, I have to read the prayer I’m memorizing several times a day. The advantage to this is that I now have to take several “prayer breaks” from writing and composing, which helps my muse and creativity.
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