The Power of Recall

“How do you remember all that!” My student says with his hands in the air. I have just parroted off a fun fact about the Song Dynasty. I smile as my student doesn’t realise that decades of learning have helped me seem omniscient in his eyes. Really I just have a good memory.

In my work, I help students build skills around memorization and organization. Often, I find that their recall is lacking.

Recall is defined as “calling back” or “bringing to mind”. It is the act of remembering or reminiscing. 

Do you remember what you ate last Sunday?

Most people say they can’t remember. But, they only put about .2 seconds into remembering. So, can you not remember? Or are you not practiced in the art of recall?

This often happens for my students. They do not recall anything from the weekend. So I will ask, did you sleep for 48hrs straight?

My students will smile at the ridiculousness of this question. It becomes a starting point for them to remember.

Memory is often fleeting. We are told by the media and science that we construct our memory. The conclusion then becomes that we cannot trust our memory.

But if we never remember, are we really human?

This question begs a longer explanation, but let me draw it back to my tutoring.

As my students are asked to remember their weekend, they begin to notice details about their life. After a few sessions, my students can recall most of what goes on in the class, adding details even when unprompted.

Why is this important?

Because as my students engage their recall, they start to remember important things. They remember the lessons from school. They remember if they have a test. They remember a funny moment with friends. They tell me a joke they learned from a video game. 

Life starts to take a different shape. 

I see it happen to all my students. Although they are reluctant to remember, their memory ends up being the key to unlocking something greater within themselves.

If you don’t believe me, then I recommend you practice your own act of remembering. Begin to recall what you did the week before. Try to remember the way it sounded, smelled, even tasted.

Do you remember the taste of your last dinner? Was it yummy? Was it not?

This process is not meant to be a practice in insanity. Instead, it is meant to help relive your experience and help you build up your ability to recall. 

By easily recalling, just like my students, certain aspects of memory, sensory experience, and reality will begin to become more vivid.

There is nothing better than experiencing something wonderful and then being able to remember how it was to be there.

You might be thinking, what if I have bad experiences. What if I remember all those horrible things?

Recalling negative moments is helpful too. By recalling, reminiscing, and remembering you can start to work through your own emotions within that experience. Your memory can allow you to enter in, process, and then create a different narrative.

This act of recall for the sake of emotional processing is very powerful. Most modern day therapy is based on this premise.

Most importantly, recall is essential for the Christian life. It is a skill that I am still building. As I recall my days, I can begin to piece together the daily miracles that God provides in my life. Additionally, those grounded in scripture can recall verses to help them during their daily struggles. This is another skill I hope to grow.

Recalling God’s provision is one of the greatest ways to “lean not on your own understanding” and “do not fear”. The process of remembering how you were saved helps you see how far you’ve come and what can still change. Reminiscing allows you to relish in God’s past goodness, reminding yourself that “his mercies never cease”.

To remember Christ’s death and resurrection stands against everything that Satan wishes us to experience. Evil wants you to forget, wants you to never recall, and hopes to lessen this skill until you don’t think it’s possible to remember anything.

My students will often say, “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know what happened”. But I know they do. It just takes work to remember and many of them don’t want to do the work. I wait, ask a more specific question, and take a breath for them to exercise their memory.

We need to do the same for our own spiritual growth. When was the last time you recalled how God blessed you? When was the last time you remember hearing from the Holy Spirit?

These questions are not asked to make you think of a timeline and notice only the long stretches between you hearing God and you not hearing anything. Instead, try to remember the exact day you saw God work in life. Remember how it felt to hear God’s voice. Was it a sunny day? Was it a chilly night?

Give yourself time to remember. The process of recall does not happen in 2 minutes or even twenty. Think about the specific ways you heard God’s voice. 

Notice, remember, reminisce.

God put these memories there for you to lean on when you don’t know which way to turn. 

He wants to recall those times that you felt he was by your side. Those things were true. Those things were lovely. Maybe, they were even hard.

This recalling reveals a greater truth. As God was present in your life in the past, he continues to be present in your today. “For we serve the God of the living”, Jesus states. 

And in this way our memory serves as a way to grow in the present. 

My encouragement to you is the same to my students; Recalling the things from last week will be key to remembering the good things in the future.

So friends, let us remember, let us recall, and never forget that our Christ is a living God who hopes to see us use our entire heart, soul and mind (and memory) to serve him.