“Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name'” (Matthew 6:9).
Federal Visionists love the Lord’s Prayer and think that we ought to teach it to our children. They assert that children of believers have some sort of a relationship with God. Therefore, they argue, we should teach our children to pray. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
The Reformed faith has always insisted that our children are unregenerate, and therefore, they are dead in their trespasses and sins. They have no relationship with God whatsoever. In no way are they connected to Christ. They are vipers in diapers.
Nonetheless, for some reason, modern Reformed folk still baptize their children. Yet, we insist that in no way does this baptism “save” them or “unite” them to Christ. They are just as damned and separate from Christ as are the children of the non-elect.
Until our children are regenerated, they should be treated as the unbelievers that they are. Most importantly, this means that they should be banned from the Lord’s Supper lest they be judged for failing to discern the Lord’s body, namely, that they are not part of it.
Additionally, children should not be taught to sing to the Lord, as this would be hypocritical, professing with their mouths something that is not true in their hearts.
Also, children should be prevented from tithing, as this would teach them legalism, that they could earn God’s favor through their gifts.
Finally, children should definitely not be taught to pray, as God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers. Until they have a crisis-conversion experience, our children should not be taught the Lord’s Prayer, lest they pray it in private.
It might even be preferable to keep children out of worship services altogether, since worship is for believers.
