Anna

Luke 2:36-38:

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;  and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Lessons from Anna:

1. Anna, a woman of 84 years, fasting daily. So you see, daily fasting is not necessarily unhealthy. (I used to think she had been a widow for 84 years, but I don't think that now. If you do, you may be right about it. Either way, Anna was an old woman.)
2. Her daily prayers and fasting was not for the service of others, though it did serve others to pray for them. No, it was for the service of God.
3. She was blessed to know that Jesus was the one to bring redemption because she knew God. Daily prayer, being in the temple around the public reading of the scriptures, with holy people who shared her faith and, of course, fasting - these things brought her close to the God of all creation.
4. No doubt, she was a woman held in high honor, being a prophetess; this simple woman who fasted and prayed daily.