A Desperate Prayer Sets Victim Free
“I got held at gunpoint,” says Deven. “And they told me there is no escaping, there is no leaving, there is no-no telling.” Deven Tucker spent most of his life trapped in circumstances beyond his control. It started with childhood neglect by his parents that shaped his view of himself and the world. “I felt empty. Like-like just like nobody cared, and eventually it got to the point where I thought, well, maybe this is the norm, just for my life. Maybe this is how it’s supposed to be,” says Deven.
The only time he felt loved was when he was with his grandmother who brought him to church and taught him to pray. “When nobody else was around, I could rely on Grandma, and I was expecting her to be there forever,” says Deven. “And things got-got dark. Things got-things went south when she passed away.”
By the time he was in middle school, he’d run away from home and traded arguments with his mom for chaos on the streets of Detroit. In the years that followed, Deven made thousands of dollars selling drugs. Still, he remained trapped in fear. “I felt like there was no security. I was always worrying, always stressed out about who’s after me,” says Deven. “Even my best friends—are they after me? It’s not just the police, it’s the ones who are close to you.”
His fears became reality when police raided his house. They seized drugs and $200,000 in cash. Deven was facing 15-25 years in prison. As he sat in jail waiting for trial, he remembered what his grandmother taught him about prayer. “So, I prayed in jail, and I said, ‘God, I don’t know if you’re real or not. But if you are, if you let me go, I-I'll stop selling drugs. I’ll quit,” says Deven. “Went to court, had my hearing and I was free.”
Deven was released on a technicality and never sold drugs again. Needing income, he joined a company that takes young people state to state selling magazines. He soon found out it was a front for a sex trafficking ring. “I was stuck. There-there's no getting out,” says Deven. “I was held at gunpoint, and I’ve watched people get beaten, left almost for dead. Where am I gonna go if I’m being followed in every room? Where am I gonna go if there’s a van following me I every neighborhood? Who am I gonna call? I don’t have a cellphone,” says Deven.
For the next year-and-a-half, Deven was forced to have sex with strangers. Trafficked through 11 states, and desperate for freedom, he spent three days praying for rescue. Then the next day while selling magazines, he knocked on the door of a family involved with Florida Abolitionist, a group dedicated to freeing people from sex slavery. They sensed he was in danger and offered him help. “He says, ‘Do you want out?’” says Deven. “The way he looked at me, the way he said it, I had an understanding. You want to help me leave my situation.”
The family was able to rescue Deven from his captors and gave him new hope. “He said something that triggered. He said, ‘For God so loved the world. That He gave His only begotten Son,’” says Deven. “And then he quoted it different. He said, ‘For God so loved Deven, that He gave His only begotten Son.’ And it-it hit me personally in a way. And I thought about the times I’ve been shot, stabbed, locked up. The times that I went through, like throughout just my whole life from elementary all the way up until, you know, now,” says Deven. “Like you did this because you love me. This was more than, this was not just saving me from Hell. You-you-you love ME. And that reality is what, ‘Yes, Lord. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for-for-for what you did for me,” says Deven.
That day, Deven was rescued physically and spiritually, when he surrendered his life to Christ, he was finally set free. “Everything that I never had. He completely did the opposite and turned it around and gave it to me,” says Deven. “Complete restoration. It had to start off with God’s grace and that’s what I’m thankful for and the blessings that come with it. And I mean blessings in the sense that, just being able to wake up and feel the freedom. God has given me a family, God has given me three beautiful kids, a beautiful wife and I just thank God for every ounce of it. Every drop,” says Deven.
He shares his story hoping others who are being trafficked will find help as they cry out to God for freedom. “God hears you, every prayer, every thought. And there is hope. If He can set me free, He can help you get free,” says Deven.
