All prayer is prayer in Christ. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly places. One of his jobs while there is to pray. His prayers are perfect and always in line with the will of the Father.
When we pray, we do not pray directly to the Father. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives we pray in Christ to the Father. Our prayers are effectual not because of some inherent quality in them. They are effectual because they are attached to the prayers of Christ.
The Daily Office is built on this premise. Its contents are an answer to the question, "What things does Jesus pray for?" In the Daily Office we pray those things. This aspect of praying the Daily Office takes the pressure of me to produce prayers that God will hear. I no longer have to worry if I am getting the prayer right and I no longer have to worry if there is enough fervency or emotion attached to my praying. I simply pray the office in Christ. Christ is the perfect pray-er. My prayers are in him, so my prayers are perfect. My job is to be faithful to pray the prayers and leave the rest up to God.
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