Then her Lord accepted her with the best manner and caused her to grow in the best manner, and Zakaria was assigned with her guardianship; whenever Zakaria entered her shrine, he found food supplied near her. He asked: “Oh Maryam! From where did you get this?” She replied: “It is from Lord Allah”. Indeed, Allah is giving sustenance without measure to whom He wishes.
It was for the first time a female was appointed for the service of Lord in a Masjid. At that time, a dispute occurred about her guardianship, and they drew lots with arrows. Thus, Prophet Zakaria, the old man having no children, got the guardianship of Maryam as told in verse 3: 44. This verse teaches that before sending the food tray from Paradise as a reply to the prayer of Jesus as told in verse 5: 114, Lord had sent heavenly sustenance to his mother Maryam in a supernatural way. This verse also teaches that Lord can give sustenance to whom He wishes without any measures and reasons. This incident made Zakaria pray for an offspring. See explanation 2: 260 and 3: 26-27.