A European Christian living in Turkey in the 1970’s shares how the memorization of the Word of God can save your life.
“We were in Turkey in the seventies. The military junta had just been replaced by a civil government. And there was a vague of xenophobia (fear of foreigners) spreading across the country. (We are in difficulty, and it is the fault of the Americans or Europeans)
Every month there were some 150 murders of foreigners who lived there. We had an American friend who lived in a city close to the Syrian border with his wife. He had the habit to get up early to read the Bible and a time of prayer with the Lord. One day, early in the morning, someone rang the doorbell. Opening the door he saw armed men. He tried to flee but they shot him in the back and killed him. He was a very gifted pianist, and his wife was 8 months pregnant.
Did memorization protect me from a terrorist attack?
I also had the habit every day towards 7. 30 a.m. to go for a prayer walk in one of the magnificent parks of Istanbul overlooking the Bosphorus. I was learning by heart the book of James
At that time there were conflicts between right-wing and left-wing universities. Certain militants had the habit to drive by their rival university in a car and shoot into the crowd of students when going in or coming out of the university.
The path I was following was in the woods below one of the universities.
I was reading a phrase to add to a group of verses I was memorizing. And I was repeating them out loud. Then I stopped to check the passage in the Bible to see if I got the words right and that I didn’t forget anything.
Suddenly I heard some firecrackers!
That seemed strange so early in the morning. But then I heard 5 or 6 bullets whizzing just in front of my head. I saw a man with a German shepherd coming down through the trees (about 60 feet between me and the road. I thought I would discuss with him in Turkish to see what was going on. (It was a good opportunity to practice since I was learning Turkish at the time). But he had a rifle in his hand…
So without further ado, I ran to our apartment by zigzagging all over the field on the other side. I was scratched up some and bleeding because of falling several times. My wife was still in bed after a difficult night (baby crying). Seeing that I was bleeding, she asked me several times what happened.
But I had run so hard that I was short of breath. When I could finally explain, I said « Today you almost lost your husband”
So did memorization save my life? Quite possible. The Spirit had me stop right at the moment that the assailant was aiming at my head to shoot me”. And fortunately he missed me because I stopped right at that moment”.
Will memorization of God’s word save your life?
So this Christian will find out in heaven if he was saved from death at that moment. What we do know is that the best thing a young man can do to save him from spiritual death is what the Psalmist says in Psalms 119.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you. (vs 11)
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long. (vs 97)
Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies. (vs 98)
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. (vs 105)
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple. (vs 130)
We hope this story gives you the desire not only to read but to memorize God’s word!
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Here is a helpful book to learn to memorize the Bible “How to memorize scripture quickly and easily“
Comment from Elizabeth Nanninga
“So this quote, did memorization save your life? Or cultivating a sensitivity to the Spirit’s presence did? I agree that memorizing scripture will help you grow in your walk with the Lord and that your experience of pausing at just the right time, you can look back and see God’s hand in pausing you, some say a “God moment”. Encouraging a person to read the Bible is always a good thing. So this is true. But really it was the Spirit that saved your life.”
Could this paragraph be read this way?
“So did memorization save my life? Maybe. More to the point, the Spirit of God, who lives within each believer, helped me to stop right at the crucial moment to check the scriptures to see if I was correctly reciting the passage I was memorizing. Looking up, I realize the danger I was in and reacted. The assailant was shooting at me, but because I paused at just the right moment, he missed. Thank God! God spared my life that day. As Christians, we don’t believe in coincidences or luck but we see God’s action in our lives. When we are tuned to see it, God is always working. Memorization helps me to know God better and how he works. He spared my life that day, I feel, for a purpose. (What about your friend who was shot in the back, I guess God didn’t spare him, but he was likely memorizing scripture, right? Now, we get into “fairness” and “purposes of God”. Your story opens up many questions”.