Passage
And *he* shall go before him in [the] spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to [the] thoughts of just [men], to make ready for [the] Lord a prepared people.
Luke 1:17 (DBY)
Nearby Context
Luke 1:15 For he shall be great before [the] Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with [the] Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
Luke 1:16 And many of the sons of Israel shall he turn to [the] Lord their God.
Luke 1:17 And *he* shall go before him in [the] spirit and power of Elias, to turn hearts of fathers to children, and disobedient ones to [the] thoughts of just [men], to make ready for [the] Lord a prepared people.
Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for *I* am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?
Luke 1:19 And the angel answering, said to him, *I* am Gabriel, who stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to thee, and to bring these glad tidings to thee;
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "Spirit", "shall", "before", "power", "elias", "turn", "hearts", and "fathers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And many of the sons of Israel..." into verse 18's "And Zacharias said to the angel How...", so "Spirit" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.