We don't know much about Anna. We know she was a prophetess. But we don't fully know what that means, and how that would compare to John the Baptizer. We know she was devoted, and regularly and often in the temple. But we know little of in what capacity she was there; though we might surmise that she was there to worship and pray and prophesy. We know she saw the baby Jesus and immediately began to tell everyone about him. So Luke tells us that Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and completely devoted to worship by fasting and prayer.
One commentator (David Guzik) says, "Anna was a remarkable woman. As a widow she knew pain and loss but had not become bitter. As an elderly woman she had not lost hope. Perhaps it was because she was a woman of worship and a woman of prayer."
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