God's Benevolent Supply

The Lord Jesus Christ wanted to make it plain to His disciples that, having understood the proper pattern for prayer, they could expect that the Father would hear them and answer them, especially when it came to praying for the Holy Spirit. They could understand the idea of earthly fathers, though naturally evil, knowing how to give good things to their children. The Lord's point was that the Father in Heaven, being naturally good and gracious, is far more able and inclined to give good things to His children. Chief among those good things is the Holy Spirit, and other Scriptures make it plain that the Lord was referring to that outpouring of the Spirit that would be needed in serving Christ and advancing His kingdom in the world.