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We must therefore let Jesus teach us what father really means.  In Jesus’ discourse, the Father appears as the source of all good, as the measure of the rectitude (perfection) of man…. The love that endures “to the end” (JN 13:1), which the Lord fulfilled on the cross in praying for his enemies, shows us the essence of the Father.  He is this love.  Because Jesus brings it to completion, he is entirely “Son”, and he invites us to become “sons” according to this criterion…

The Lord reminds us that fathers do not give their children stones when they ask for bread.  He then goes on to say: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (LK 11:13).  This means that the gift of God is God himself.  The “good things” that he gives us are himself.  This reveals in a surprising way what prayer is really all about: it is not about this or that, but about God’s desire to offer us the gift of himself – that is the gift of all gifts, the “one thing necessary”.  Prayer is a way of gradually purifying and correcting our wishes and of slowly coming to realise what we really need: God and his Spirit.

Pope Benedict XVI