My first recitation was Acts 20:28-32 (Be on your guard…). Reciting really made the passage come alive for me as I had to put myself in Paul’s shoes and speak to his people as him! Memorizing scriptures before that really didn’t motivate me much. There were some that I had memorized either because they were important, or oft read, or just easy–but not as a consistent discipline. But that really changed when I recited. It was like God’s hand was on me, it wasn’t onerous or difficult, it was exciting. I was the narrator, I was Paul, I was John, whoever was speaking it was like I was them, in the moment, speaking to their audience. It wasn’t really reciting so much as it was talking to them as they would have. It was reciting in the sense that it was word-for-word, but as I got to know it, I became more and more the person speaking as he would ordinarily speak, not repeating words from rote. The other thing that impressed me and that I try to pass on to reciters and potential reciters is that there are levels of “knowing”. At the first level you can recite the passage for yourself. You get to the point where you don’t stumble, you don’t search for the next word, you know it cold and can confidently recite the whole passage. Then you do it for someone else. Suddenly everything is shaky again and you realize you don’t really know it to the level you need. So, you keep working on it until you can confidently recite and engage with your audience. It has to pour forth from within you. But when you can do it, it is like God is pouring his words into their hearts and you get to be the conduit!