http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/3483_If_My_Words_Abide_in_You/
John 15:7
"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."
John Piper talks about the importance of memorizing Scripture. He lists a number of reasons why memorizing Scripture is so beneficial to our spiritual well-being. In fact, this is his testimony which I found to be helpful:
" 1. Memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when I can’t be reading the Bible, and meditation is the pathway of deeper understanding.
2. Memorizing Scripture strengthens my faith because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, and that happens when I am hearing the word in my head.
3. Memorizing Scripture shapes the way I view the world by conforming my mind to God’s viewpoint.
4. Memorizing Scripture makes God’s word more readily accessible for overcoming temptation to sin, because God’s warnings and promises are the way we conquer the deceitful promises of sin.
5. Memorizing Scripture guards my mind by making it easier to detect error—and the world is filled with error, since the god of this world is a liar.
6. Memorizing Scripture enables me to hit the devil in the face with a force he cannot resist, and so protect myself and my family from his assaults.
7. Memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest words for ministering to others in need.
8. Memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because he talks to me through his word, and I talk to him in prayer."
It isn't enough to just memorize Scripture. God's Word has to be abiding in us. There's a difference between these two concepts. We know that even the devil can memorize Scripture; the difference is that the Word does not abide in Satan. So what does it mean to abide in His Word? John 5:38 says, "nor does His Word dwell in you, for you do not believe The One He sent." To abide is to believe in Jesus. More than merely memorizing, to abide means for the Word of God to take root and bear fruit. It's essentially connecting the link between word and faith. Memorizing verses are just words. Abiding in His Word is faith.
