The author of Psalm 119 tells God, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Those words perfectly encapsulate the importance of Scripture memorization. As we internalize God’s word, the Spirit can put it to work for us at critical moments.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He responded by quoting passages from the book of Deuteronomy. The Spirit can do the same thing with the Scripture we memorize. As we commit Scripture to memory, the Spirit uses it to encourage us, help us ward off temptation, and transform how we see ourselves and the world.
The great thing is that the benefits of memorizing Scripture do not simply apply to adults. Children of all ages can reap the benefits. It’s merely a matter of finding passages they can understand and helping them commit them to memory.
To that end, we’ve compiled a list of verses appropriate for kids of all ages. For younger children, you might consider pruning verses to their core elements. For instance, a six-year-old child might not be up for memorizing all of 1 John 4:16 (“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them”). But they can easily remember “God is love.”
Helping your child memorize Scripture
Finding age-appropriate passages your child understands is critical to helping them memorize Scripture. There isn’t a lot of value in encouraging the memorization of passages they don’t understand when there are so many powerful passages that younger children can grasp and hold onto.
As you consider what verses to encourage children to memorize, ideally you’ll find simple, meaningful passages that align with other ideas they’ve been learning about at church, home or other settings.
From there, it’s about understanding what kind of help your child might need based on their natural strengths and personality. Some kids have a natural propensity toward memorization and just need someone to help them review the verses they’ve learned. Others might need a little more help in the memorization process.
For younger children, this might mean incorporating hand motions into their recitation or turning verses into simple songs. Both work different mental muscles and help children recall the words more easily. It’s also helpful for them to have a specific time of day when they work on Bible memory and review their progress.
We’ve listed 80 verses here to help you get started. You’ll see these verses are arranged into different themes and categories, to align with what you might want to focus on.
Verses about God’s Love and Goodness
1. Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever (Psalm 23:6).
2. The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid (Psalm 27:1)?
3. For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does (Psalm 33:4).
4. The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love (Psalm 103:8).
5. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever (Psalm 136:1).
6. The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made (Psalm 145:9).
7. He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).
8. He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young (Isaiah 40:11).
9.For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
10. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
11. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
12. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17).
Verses about God’s Power
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
2. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
3. The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1).
4. “Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5).
5. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
6. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Verses about Serving and Loving God
1. How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word (Psalm 119:9).
2. I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11).
3. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6).
4. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39).
5. If you love me, keep my commands (John 14:15).
6. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
7. Do everything without grumbling or arguing (Philippians 2:14).
8. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice (Philippians 4:4)!
9. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).
10. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2).
11. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord (Colossians 3:20).
12. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23).
13. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
14. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
15. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22).
16. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Verses about Loving Others
1. But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27)
2. Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31).
3. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
4. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us (1 John 3:23).
5. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8).
6. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16).
7. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:14)
Verses about Relying on God + Our Need for Him
1. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14).
2. The Lord bless you
and keep you (Numbers 6:24)
3. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (Psalm 23:1).
4. Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).
5. For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6).
6. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).
7. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
8. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
9. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
10. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
11. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
12. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).
13. I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).
14. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
Verses about Faith in God
1. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
2. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).
3. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you (Psalm 56:3).
4. The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad (Psalm 118:24).
5. Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path (Psalm 119:105).
6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
7. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
8. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life (John 6:47).
9. They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:31).
10. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).
11. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
12. “…For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
13. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).
14. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
15. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Verses about Jesus
1. For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
2. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).
3. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).”
4. He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30).
5. I and the Father are one (John 10:30).
6. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
7. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
8. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
9. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
10. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Using video to reinforce memorization
Watching biblically based children’s videos can do a lot to aid memorization. And it’s not about finding videos that include the verses your child is learning. The benefit comes from being exposed to the biblical narrative and themes. For instance, exposure to the gospel story reinforces passages like Romans 5:8. (“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”) When they connect the ideas in this verse to the gospel story, the concept becomes more familiar, and it becomes much easier to commit the verse to memory.
Jesus Film Project® has many inspirational videos for children. The Story of Jesus for Children is a great place to start to give younger children a point of reference for Jesus they can understand.
Check out our Watch page, to discover what other children-friendly videos are available!
