WHAT HAPPENS WHEN a violent or tragic event seems to snuff out the possibility of normal living? Many times such an event leaves an individual with a tenacious mental impression that repeats itself like a broken record that doesn't ever skip to the next beat. The psychological aftereffects of an extreme traumatic experience are often referred to as PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

PTSD diagnoses in the United States have been on the upswing with return of veterans. Some estimates show that one out of every four soldiers returning from two or more tours of duty in Iraq suffers some form of the illness. Other statistics point to the large number of women who have served in the Iraq War—about 11 percent of the military force in Iraq and Afghanistan, or 180,000 deployed so far. Many of these women are returning to civilian life, caring for their children, and finding the task difficult under the strain of PTSD.

Take any innocent, unsuspecting adult—or child—anywhere in the world and expose him or her to a tragedy the likes of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, terrorist activity, or violence in the home, and the world would claim it's a perfect recipe for dysfunction. Yet, scientific healing prayer—the kind Christ Jesus taught and practiced, as explained in Christian Science—has mighty power to wipe the slate clean.

The Bible story of three Hebrew men who were unjustly sentenced to death illustrates this saving and redeeming power (see Dan., chap. 3). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prayed to one God and refused to bow down to the golden image and other gods that King Nebuchadnezzar worshipped. They perceived a clear and close connection to their Creator, such that nothing could stand in their way—not even the unjust sentence of destruction in a burning fiery furnace. They weren't simply thrown into the furnace either, but were bound so there was no escaping. Yet the Bible says they never wavered in the confidence that their God would save them. And when the king looked in at them, he observed a fourth figure with them, "The Son of God." All were walking freely, unbound, and untouched by the flames.

Mary Baker Eddy explained in the textbook of Christian Science, "Holy inspiration has created states of mind which have been able to nullify the action of the flames, as in the Bible case of the three young Hebrew captives, cast into the Babylonian furnace; while an opposite mental state might produce spontaneous combustion" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 161). How vital, today, for all of us to cultivate thoughts void of combustible elements such as guilt, anger, revenge, pain. And the most comforting aspect of this story is that the Christ—the message of our true relationship with God—will always be available by our side in any circumstance, protecting and saving, providing a consistent mental frame of mind that is unchangeable and eternal.

When the Hebrew men emerged from the fire, the Bible records there wasn't even the smell of smoke on them. Their experience ultimately transformed the king's, who decreed that all should revere the one Almighty God. It's just as possible today, no matter what circumstance crosses our paths. The memory or constant replay of a traumatic event, like that smell of smoke, need never penetrate our "garments"—in fact, can never touch the pure Christly consciousness that God has given each son and daughter. The spiritual, irreversible fact is that as God's idea, we each include indestructible being. We're always innocent, always poised to bless and heal. "Indestructible being" is the marginal heading for the following statement in Science and Health: "When spiritual being is understood in all its perfection, continuity, and might, then shall man be found in God's image... found, in His likeness, perfect as the Father, indestructible in Life, 'hid with Christ in God,'—with Truth in divine Love, where human sense hath not seen man" (p. 325).

The human senses attempt to record events that God never could have created. But even the worst physical sense-impressions cannot stand up to the power of the Christ to wipe the slate clean. Our prayers can help anyone who has experienced the aftereffects of war, disaster, or any unthinkable circumstance to find healing, as we take a firm mental stand for their permanent purity and perfection as "His likeness." To be hidden with the Christ is never to be touched by the dream of suffering in a physical body, with a mind or thoughts separated from God. Christ's verdict is always health, joy, freedom, wholeness. It's a verdict that everyone can claim.

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