Is God good?  Yes indeed (Psalm 145:9)!  But in Jesus' day there was little confidence about that.  The country was occupied by the Roman army, their taxes supported a pagan Emperor, and their King was a puppet ruler who had little interest in praying for God's Messiah to come.  Their circumstances had defeated their confidence in God's Word; their religion was formal, their prayers were obligations, and their hope was exhausted.  That may be true of you also.

Jesus' teaching about the fatherliness of God was essential if the disciples were to learn to trust Him when their circumstances were black.  Jesus argued that if sinful people can be kind to their children who ask for food, surely Father God will give the very best to those who ask Him.  The Lord then went even further than promising 'daily bread' (as in Luke 11:3); He guaranteed that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to all those who become children of God (John 1:12-13).

Those who were properly listening would have remembered Isaiah's prediction of Immanuel - meaning ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14).  Prayer is about relationship.  Certainly, requests and responses are a part of that, but when prayer is reduced to a shopping list, we have missed the point of intimate conversation (Psalm 84:2).  Father God wants us to have a family bond with Him, within which we can share our needs and He can be generous with His blessings.  Jesus was Immanuel/Emmanuel, but soon He would be going away ... instead of leaving them as orphans He would ask the Father to send them the Holy Spirit to be with them for ever (John 14:16).

The Holy Spirit has been given so that we might know God's presence within us all the time, and that we can learn from Him how to pray and live a life which pleases Him (Romans 8:26-27).  Paul instructed the Ephesian church to '... be filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18), and the words he used mean 'keep on being filled with the Spirit'.  So, it is right that we should be bold, each day, to ask our Father to fill us with His Holy Spirit.  If we are to be good disciples of Jesus and work with Him - we need to be filled full of His Holy Spirit who will bring love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  If we, who are weak, know how to give good gifts, how much more will our Father give His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?  Today is a good day to ask!