Pastor John, it seems you have traditionally placed the emphasis on Bible memorization for the personal benefits derived from the discipline. Is there a community dimension to Scripture memory as well? Tony, usually when I try to defend memorizing Scripture, I'll go right to the soul work that it does in my heart.

I love to memorize Scripture because something happens to my soul. I feel like I know God better. I have a more intimate relationship with Him. His fellowship is more steadfast as I take it with me through the day, but that that's not what I want to say this time in answering this question because something that happened last night, just to remind me of something that's happened many times, I want to encourage people to memorize Scripture, say two or three verses or a chapter, some precious unit, and then be on the lookout for what I would call immeasurable moments.

Moments where the insertion of that text from your heart, eyeball to eyeball, without having to open a book and read it, coming from your soul, would make that moment explode with significance. So for example, we had over last night a missionary family who's going to be leaving actually tomorrow to go back to Southeast Asia, and we just wanted to one, save them having to make a meal, and the other is just to bless them as they go.

And as we stood in the kitchen before we got our taco salad, we held hands, and they thought I was just gonna pray, and I said, "Let me give you a word from the Lord that I think is for you." And then I recited Psalm 121. I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will not slumber or sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade upon your right hand. He won't let your foot be moved. He's your helper.

He's your keeper. He will keep your going out, and he will keep your coming in from this time, forth, and forever. I got it right last night. But you can see the relevance of that. For you're going out, and you're coming in. He's gonna keep you. And they were looking right at me, I think, with some surprise as I gave it to them.

And my prayer is now, with that immeasurable moment, they'll look back and remember, Pastor John didn't just pray with us before the meal. He sent us off by reminding us God's gonna keep us on the airplane, keep us in the airport, keep us on the ground in Southeast Asia.

He's gonna keep us when we go. He's gonna keep us when we come. And so my plea for folks is that they would take a few Psalms, Psalm 46, Psalm 16, Psalm 130, Psalm 121. For me, Psalm 130, "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand? Could not." How many times have I knelt down, put my arm on somebody who's just been broken for some sin that they've committed, and I've been able to just pray, "Lord, if you would mark iniquities, who could stand?" So I'm not elevating myself above this person.

With the very Word of God, there's forgiveness with you that you may be feared. And how many times when I've been asked to pray in public, in some setting, my default prayer, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And on earth there's nothing that I desire besides you." So my point is this.

There are situations in life that just cry out for a word from God from your soul. Not just, "Let me get my Bible out and read you a text," but rather give it from the soul. And I would just encourage folks, if they would memorize a half a dozen special passages of Scripture that fit a bunch of situations, and then look for those immeasurable moments, they would become an emissary of grace beyond all their expectations.

Thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for listening to this podcast. Please email your questions to us at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org. At desiringgod.org you will find thousands of free books, articles, sermons, and other resources from John Piper. I'm your host Tony Reinke, thanks for listening.