Prayer for Lambeth

‘Live such good lives among the gentiles that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.’ 1 Peter 2:12
This is the challenge that Peter offered his readers in the first century and it seems particularly appropriate for us as we chart the difficult waters of the twenty-first. It is inevitable, particularly in relation to issues of sexuality, that some of the views we hold as evangelicals will be deemed as 'wrong' by the culture around us. At the same time, however, the gospel calls us to live in such a way that our 'good deeds' lead to praise for God. This is the enduring task of bringing grace and truth together and it is especially pertinent as our Anglican brothers and sisters embark on the latest Lambeth Conference.
As the Evangelical Alliance, we have observed with sadness the way in which the debates within the Anglican Communion have been portrayed in the press. Our fear is that the central cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ has not been furthered by the tone in which these discussions have taken place. We are concerned that some too readily seek to define who is and who is not an evangelical Anglican. We are worried that others may be using language that is inappropriate to describe their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hence, we offer this prayer to the whole of the evangelical constituency as a means by which we may call on God’s grace to help us in this particular time of need.