The reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit is rather unexpected in Luke 11:13. By it Jesus reminds us that the gift of prayer is connected with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer, the Spirit of grace and supplication (Zech 12:10). Even though people were created for prayer, it does not come naturally to fallen humanity. It is part of God's new creation by his life-giving Spirit. Both in our worship (Gal. 3:3; cf. John 4:23) and in our praying (Eph. 6:18; cf. Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:6), we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. So to overcome our inability to pray properly, Christ not only gives us his prayer; he also gives us the power to address his heavenly Father as his dear children by pouring out his Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit then helps to articulate our hidden needs and prompts us in what we say. Since we don't know how to pray, he takes over from us and intercedes within us by getting us to pour out our hearts to God (Rom 8:26-27). When we pray we don't just join in with Jesus who carries us along with himself; we go along with the Holy Spirit who moves within us and leads us with Jesus to God the Father.
John W Kleinig
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