Priority memorization — for the law
Distilled from Gann’s frame in The Magic Word + the full OT/NT law tradition + the prayer specifically for perfect understanding of the law and to abide the law.
Three tiers. Each builds on the previous. Tier 1 + 2 = ~70 verses (one year of focused work at 1-2 verses/day). Tier 3 = ~1,000 verses (multi-year).
Tier 1 — Foundational (memorize first, ~30 verses)
OT
| Reference | Why |
|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 6:4-9 | The Shema — Israel’s central command + how to internalize it (“teach diligently… talk of them… bind them… write them”) |
| Leviticus 19:18 | ”love thy neighbour as thyself” — the second great commandment in seed form |
| Joshua 1:8 | ”this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth… meditate therein day and night” — the methodological instruction |
| Psalms 1:1-3 | Programmatic intro to the Psalter; the tree planted by rivers of water that meditates in the law |
| Psalms 19:7-11 | ”The law of the LORD is perfect” — the most concentrated law-praise in scripture |
| Psalms 119:11 | ”Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” |
| Psalms 119:97 | ”O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” |
| Psalms 119:105 | ”Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” |
| Psalms 119:160 | ”Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” |
| Psalms 119:167 | ”My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly” |
| Proverbs 3:1-12 | The wisdom-and-law prologue; trust the LORD, lean not on understanding |
| Isaiah 40:8 | ”The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” |
NT
| Reference | Why |
|---|---|
| Matthew 5:17-18 | ”Think not that I am come to destroy the law… till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass” |
| Matthew 22:37-40 | The two great commandments + “on these two hang all the law and the prophets” |
| John 1:1-3, 14 | ”In the beginning was the Word… the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” |
| John 8:31-32 | ”If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” |
| John 14:15 | ”If ye love me, keep my commandments” |
| John 14:21 | ”He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” |
| John 14:23 | ”If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him” |
| John 15:9-12 | ”Abide in my love… If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” |
| Romans 13:8 | ”He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” |
| Romans 13:10 | ”Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” |
| Galatians 5:14 | ”All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” |
| Galatians 6:7 | ”Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (the sowing-and-reaping mechanism) |
| James 1:22-25 | ”Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…“ |
| 1 John 5:3 | ”This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” |
Tier 2 — Operational expansion (~40 more verses)
OT — the law expanded
- Deuteronomy 11:18-21 — “lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul”
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28 — blessing or curse based on obedience
- Deuteronomy 30:11-20 — “this commandment… is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off… choose life”
- Psalms 19:1-6 — the heavens declare (law of nature) before law of Lord
- Psalms 27:1-4 — “one thing have I desired”
- Psalms 37:3-7 — “delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”
- Psalms 46:10 — “Be still, and know that I am God”
- Psalms 91:1-7 — abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
- Psalms 119:9-16 — Beth: how a young man shall cleanse his way
- Psalms 119:33-40 — He: teach me the way of thy statutes
- Psalms 119:103 — “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
- Psalms 119:130 — “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple”
- Psalms 145:18-20 — “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth”
- Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart”
- Proverbs 4:20-23 — “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”
- Isaiah 12:2 — “The LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song” (Gann cites 3×)
- Isaiah 26:3 — “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee”
- Isaiah 30:15 — “in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength”
- Isaiah 55:8-11 — “my word that goeth forth out of my mouth… shall not return unto me void”
- Jeremiah 31:33 — “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts”
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 — “A new heart also will I give you… and cause you to walk in my statutes”
- Micah 6:8 — “what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
NT — the law expanded
- Matthew 5:3-12 — the Beatitudes (the kingdom’s law)
- Matthew 6:9-13 — the Lord’s Prayer
- Matthew 6:33 — “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness”
- Matthew 7:7-8 — “Ask, and it shall be given… seek, and ye shall find”
- Matthew 7:24-27 — wise man / house on rock
- Mark 12:29-31 — Mark’s version of the two great commandments
- Luke 6:31 — the Golden Rule
- Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it shall be given unto you”
- John 6:63 — “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”
- John 14:1-6 — “I am the way, the truth, and the life”
- John 15:1-8 — the vine and the branches (abiding)
- John 17:17 — “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”
- Romans 8:28 — “all things work together for good to them that love God”
- Romans 12:1-2 — “present your bodies a living sacrifice… be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”
- 1 Corinthians 13 — the love chapter (memorize entire — 13 verses)
- Galatians 5:22-23 — fruit of the Spirit
- Ephesians 4:1-3 — “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called”
- Philippians 4:6-8 — “Be careful for nothing… whatsoever things are true… think on these things”
- Colossians 3:1-2 — “Seek those things which are above”
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 — “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”
- Hebrews 4:12 — “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword”
- James 2:8 — “the royal law… Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”
- 1 Peter 1:13-16 — “Be ye holy; for I am holy”
- 1 John 4:7-12 — “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God”
- 1 John 4:19-21 — “We love him, because he first loved us”
- Revelation 22:14 — “Blessed are they that do his commandments”
Tier 3 — Whole texts (memorize over years)
Listed in suggested order of taking them on.
| Text | Verses | Hebrew/Greek anchor | Suggested timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psalms 119 | 176 | Hebrew acrostic — 22 sections × 8 verses, each section starts with the same Hebrew letter | Months 1-6 (one section per week with review) |
| Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) | 111 | The complete kingdom-law teaching | Months 7-9 |
| John 14-17 | ~135 | Farewell discourse — love-as-obedience-as-abiding | Months 10-12 |
| Psalms 1, 19, 23, 27, 46, 91, 121, 139 | ~120 | The great life-and-law Psalms | Year 2 Q1 |
| Romans 12-13 | 36 | Pauline love-as-fulfilled-law | Year 2 Q1 |
| Galatians 5-6 | 39 | Spirit / fruit / sowing-reaping | Year 2 Q2 |
| 1 John | ~105 | Love-as-commandment epistle | Year 2 Q2 |
| James | ~108 | Faith without works is dead | Year 2 Q3 |
| Proverbs 1-9 | ~250 | The wisdom-prologue | Year 2 Q4 |
| Job 38-42 | ~150 | God speaks from the whirlwind | Year 3 |
| Song of Solomon | ~117 | Love-as-divine-reality (read with Patristic lens — bridegroom = Christ, bride = soul) | Year 3 |
The irreducible kernel — if you memorize nothing else
| Reference | Verses |
|---|---|
| Psalms 119 (entire) | 176 |
| Matthew 22:37-40 (two great commandments) | 4 |
| Romans 13:8-10 (love fulfills law) | 3 |
| 1 John 5:3 (love means obedience) | 1 |
| Total | 184 verses |
These 184 verses contain:
- All 8 Hebrew law-words (law/torah, commandment/mitzvah, statute/chuqqah, precept/piqqud, judgment/mishpat, testimony/edut, word/dabar, way/derek)
- The two great commandments
- Paul’s summary that love fulfills the law
- John’s summary that love and obedience are one
That’s the whole structure of “the law” in 184 verses. Everything else expands them.
Cross-frame check (per Gann’s The Magic Word, 1950)
For each verse memorized in KJV, compare against:
- OSB / LXX — does the Greek say something different? (especially Psalms — the LXX numbering differs)
- Patristic commentary — what did the Fathers say about this verse?
- Gann’s reading — how does he interpret it in The Magic Word (where applicable)?
The four-frame reading is fuller than any single frame. Memorize the KJV (Gann’s translation); cross-reference with OSB once memorized.
Pairing verses with the concordance work
For each key word in ../concordance/:
- Pick the keyword (e.g., law)
- Read every verse in
law-law.txt(522 verses for “law”) - Identify the 10-20 verses that most condense the divine pattern
- Memorize those
- Move to next keyword
This is the Gann method applied to your prayer. Pair with the priority lists above for the cross-check.
After 12 months
If you complete Tier 1 + Tier 2 + Psalms 119 entire = ~250 verses memorized. You’ll have:
- The complete Mosaic command structure
- The complete kingdom teaching from the Sermon on the Mount
- The Pauline + Johannine summaries
- The great prayer + meditation texts
That’s more than 99% of practicing Christians memorize in a lifetime. And it’s the irreducible core of the answer to your prayer.