By Wanda Alger, Op-ed contributor
Though the modern-day prophetic movement appears to be struggling for breath, perhaps God’s mercy is at work in this season of shaking and pruning to make way for something fresh. Where words have been produced from polluted wells, could God be looking for those with pure hearts and clean hands through whom His Spirit can breathe fresh life into what has always belonged to Him?
That was the question raised for me after receiving a recent dream from prophetic minister Stephen Powell. Given the well-known ministry figure represented in the dream, I was initially taken aback. But as I prayerfully considered the imagery, I began to see a message that extends beyond one person — or even the contemporary prophetic movement.
I realize Christians hold differing views about prophetic dreams and the continuation of spiritual gifts. Yet Scripture gives us a framework that requires neither blind acceptance nor automatic dismissal. On the day of Pentecost, Peter declared the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy: “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” and “your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). Paul later instructed believers, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21).
Those instructions belong together.
We are not commanded to believe every prophecy. We are commanded to test what we hear. But neither are we given permission to dismiss prophecy simply because it has been misused.
So, whether one regards this particular dream as prophetic or simply provocative, I believe its message raises an important question for the entire Church:
Have the failures of people caused us to reject something that still belongs to God?
In the dream, Stephen was walking around Los Angeles when he encountered a group of pastors holding press conferences because they had decided to run for mayor. He then came upon a well-known prophetic minister lying dead on the ground. No one was attempting to revive him. People simply stood around watching.
Stephen, however, felt compelled to intervene. Though he felt awkward and believed he was doing everything wrong, he began performing CPR. He repeatedly administered chest compressions, but nothing happened. Eventually, he realized what was missing.
The body needed breath.
He began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The body had already begun turning blue, and others were telling him to give up. But Stephen continued. Then smoke slowly began coming from the man’s mouth and, against all odds, he was revived.
The person represented in the dream was Shawn Bolz, whose widely reported ministry failures and misconduct have had a significant impact within the Charismatic community. I did not interpret the dream as a statement about his personal restoration or future ministry. Rather, I believe he represented a highly visible expression of modern prophetic ministry whose failures have contributed to a much larger crisis of credibility.
And yet, the body in the dream was not abandoned. That detail matters.
God is not finished speaking
The failures associated with modern prophetic ministry have caused many believers to question whether any of it was genuine. Failed predictions, exaggerated claims, questionable words of knowledge, lack of accountability, celebrity culture, and serious moral failures have understandably created mistrust.
Much of what has happened deserves scrutiny. Scripture itself requires it.
Paul instructed the Church concerning prophecy, “Let the others weigh what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29). John similarly warned, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).
Testing is not unbelief. Discernment is not quenching the Spirit. Accountability is not an attack on spiritual gifts.
But neither should the abuse of a gift become the basis for rejecting the gift itself.
The New Testament presents prophecy as something God intentionally gives His Church. Paul tells believers to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1). He describes prophecy as speaking to people for their “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3). And at Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was directly connected with God’s people prophesying, dreaming dreams, and seeing visions.
Whatever disagreements Christians may have about the form and function of prophecy today, the biblical trajectory is clear: God desires to communicate with His people, and He desires to speak through His people.
The problem is not that God has stopped speaking. The problem may be that what genuinely comes from His Spirit has too often become entangled with human ambition, personality, performance, and platform.
Perhaps the answer, then, is not to abandon prophecy. Perhaps it is to reclaim it.
The body needed breath
For me, the most important moment in the dream came when Stephen’s own efforts failed.
He tried repeatedly to revive the body through chest compressions. He was sincere and determined, but nothing changed. Then he realized: The body needed breath.
The imagery immediately recalls Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones. The bones came together. Sinews appeared. Flesh covered them. Outwardly, the bodies had structure.
“But there was no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:8).
Only when the breath entered did they live.
Perhaps this is the central message of the dream. Prophetic ministry cannot live on human effort. Neither impressive gifts, large platforms, charismatic personalities, nor sophisticated ministries can produce what only the Spirit of God can give.
Prophecy, by its very nature, must originate with God.
The Church does not need more people trying to produce words from their own imagination. We need men and women who have spent enough time in the presence of God to recognize His voice, submit what they hear to Scripture, and humbly allow others to weigh what they say.
God is not interested in simply resuscitating the machinery of a movement. He wants to breathe upon His people.
From the secret place to the Church
Another detail in the dream points to where this renewal must begin.
Life returned through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In Numbers 12:8, God uses similar language to describe His relationship with Moses: “With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles.”
The imagery speaks of intimacy. Before we can faithfully speak for God, we must learn to listen to God.
Perhaps one of the greatest weaknesses in modern Christian ministry is our temptation to speak publicly before we have listened privately. We have learned how to build platforms, attract audiences, produce content, and maintain visibility. But spiritual authority is not manufactured on a stage. It is formed in the presence of God.
If prophetic ministry is to regain credibility and fulfill its biblical purpose, I believe it must emerge from a deeper place of prayer, scriptural faithfulness, humility, accountability, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
The prophetic voices needed in this hour may not be those who most impressively reveal hidden information or predict future events. They may be those who know God’s heart well enough to faithfully communicate what He desires His people to hear.
The purpose of prophecy was never to make prophets impressive.
The gifts are given for the good of the Body and the glory of God.
Don’t throw away what belongs to God
This is where I believe both Charismatics and skeptics have something to consider.
Those of us who believe in the continuation of spiritual gifts must be willing to let compromised systems fall. We cannot defend manipulation, celebrity culture, lack of accountability, exaggerated claims, or unbiblical practices simply because we fear that exposing them will damage people’s confidence in prophecy.
Truth does not need our protection. But those who have become skeptical must also consider whether the failures of people have been allowed to determine what they believe God can still do.
Abuse does not invalidate proper use.
Counterfeits do not prove there is no genuine article.
And the failures of prophetic personalities do not erase the gifts God gave His Church.
The answer is not to accept everything that claims to be prophetic. Scripture explicitly forbids such gullibility. But neither is the answer to reject everything supernatural because we have witnessed its misuse. The biblical answer is discernment.
Making room for what belongs to Him
There is something else we must lay down if we are going to make room for what God desires to do next: our disappointment.
For many believers, the failures of Christian leaders have produced anger, resentment, broken promises, and deep mistrust. Those wounds should not be minimized, and forgiveness does not eliminate the need for truth and accountability.
But we cannot allow the failures of people to define our future with God. If we remain consumed with either defending those we once admired or resenting those who disappointed us, we may still be giving human personalities a place that belongs to Christ alone.
This is not about protecting the reputations of heroes of the faith. It is about guarding the honor of Christ. The glory of man must give way to the glory of God.
And perhaps this is the hope contained in the dream. God is not asking us to resurrect a broken system. He is inviting us to believe again in what originated with Him.
This is the invitation. It is time to contend — not for the resurrection of a movement, but for the resurrection power of the Spirit to breathe upon His people once again. It is time for those with a heart after God to become conduits of His presence through prayer, humility, and obedience. It is time to pray for polluted wells to be cleansed, for compromised systems to remain in the grave, and for a new generation of prophetic voices to emerge from the secret place.
We should neither preserve what man has built simply because it was called prophetic, nor reject what God has given simply because people have mishandled it.
God is reclaiming the prophetic for His glory — not to elevate those who speak, but so that His people may once again hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Wanda has been in ministry for over 35 years as a worship leader, teacher, author, deliverance counselor, and speaker. The author of nine books, Wanda inspires believers to walk in the power of the Spirit and to mature through the Word and wisdom of God. Being a church planter and married to a pastor, she also speaks about godly leadership and equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). Her vast online library of free resources, along with all her books and training videos, can be found on her website at WandaAlger.Me. She can be found on social media here:YouTube – UCZPqncM71LBx3cve_ngB6GQRumble – https://rumble.com/c/c-938547Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wanda.algerX – https://x.com/WandaAlger5