Seek the favour of the one God

So it is the one God over all whose favour we must seek, and we must pray to Him to be gracious; His favour is won by piety and by every virtue. But if Celsus wants us to win the favour of some others too, after the God over all, let him consider this: just as the movement of its shadow follows a body in motion, in the same way, winning the favour of the God over all brings with it the goodwill of all His friends, angels and souls and spirits.

For they perceive who are worthy of favour from God, and not only do they themselves become well disposed to the worthy, but they also work together with those who wish to serve the God over all; they seek His favour for them, they pray with them and join in their requests. So we dare to say that when men who by deliberate choice set the better things before them pray to God, countless holy powers pray with them unbidden. They stand by our mortal race and, if I may put it so, share its struggle and anguish, because they see the demons waging war and contending against salvation, most of all the salvation of those who dedicate themselves to God and take no thought of the hatred of the demons, if the demons grow savage against the man who flees their worship with the smoke of sacrifice and blood, and who by every manner of word and deed hastens to be made kin to the God over all and united with Him through Jesus, who overthrew countless demons when He went about “healing” and turning back “those who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38).