Next, let’s talk about the waters. Teresa went on and taught that in order for the garden to grow and bear fruit, it must be watered. Our prayers are the water. She described the development of our prayer life using a very rich analogy called the four waters. 

1. The first water is water from the water well. When you draw water from the water well, it takes a lot of effort. For beginners of the spiritual life, prayer is like that. You’re learning a new language. It may feel awkward at first and requires effort. You don’t feel like praying all the time. Or you get distracted very easily. It doesn’t always seem to work.

2. The second water is water from the water wheel. When you draw water from the water wheel, you get a lot more water with a lot less effort. As our relationship with God develops, our faith grows, and we begin to pray with faith, which makes a difference. Some of our faculties begin to have a knowledge and trust in God. This waters the garden, and fruit can grow. At this stage there is still misalignment of our faculties. For instance I may believe with my mind that God is my provider. But in times of scarcity, my other faculties such as my body and my emotions feel fear and anxiety that God will not provide. 

3. As our relationship with God develops further, we access the third waters, water from nearby streams. Here our faculties are lining up nicely. There’s deep trust there. We trust God with our hearts, with our minds, and with our guts. The garden is now nourished by the stream without hardly any effort on our part. 

4. And finally the fourth water is water from the rains. This is union with God. It is complete trust. We don’t even need to consult our faculties. God is our ultimate reality. No effort on our part is involved when the garden is watered by the rains. God waters the garden himself, and the garden flourishes with fruit. 

THE JOURNEY TO CHRISTLIKE VIRTUES IS A JOURNEY OF DEEPENING TRUST IN GOD. 

That’s what sets a spiritual formation journey apart from a self-improvement journey. 

It’s about trust.

Trust comes about through intimacy.

And trust transforms.

The heart and soul of the Enneagram of Christlike Virtues is TRANSFORMING TRUST. And the banner scripture passage comes from Jeremiah 17:7-8:

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”—Jeremiah 17:7-8