Kommentar zu Bereschit 21:1

'וה' פקד את שרה וגו AND THE LORD VISITED SARAH —It (Scripture) places this section after the preceding one to teach you that whoever prays for mercy on behalf of another when he himself also is in need of that very thing for which he prays on the other’s behalf, will himself first receive a favorable response from God, for it is said (at end of last chapter), “And Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife and they brought forth” and immediately afterwards it states here, “And the Lord remembered Sarah” — i. e. he had already remembered her before he healed Abimelech (Bava Kamma 92a).

AND THE ETERNAL ‘PAKAD’ (VISITED) SARAH AS HE HAD SAID. That is, by granting her pregnancy. And the Eternal did unto Sarah as He had spoken by granting her the birth of a son..Thus the words of Rashi.
But the word pekidah is only an expression of remembrance and attention to the one who is remembered, such as: G-d will surely remember (‘pakod yiphkod’) you;³¹²Further, 50:25. I have surely remembered you;³¹³Exodus 3:16. And Samson remembered his wife by [bringing her] a kid.³¹⁴Judges 15:1. Here, too, the sense of the verse is that the Eternal remembered Sarah, and He did to her as He had spoken. This expression is also found in connection with all barren women who later give birth. Thus, in the case of Rachel: And G-d remembered Rachel;³¹⁵Further, 30:22. and in the case of Hannah: And G-d remembered her.³¹⁶I Samuel 1:19. Similarly, the Rabb is said,³¹⁷Rosh Hashanah 32b. “Biblical verses which mention pikdonoth are equivalent to verses which mention Divine remembrances.”³¹⁸In the Additional Service of the New Year day, ten Biblical verses which speak of Divine remembrance are recited. A verse mentioning pikadon is treated as one mentioning remembrance. Thus, Ramban proves that the word pakad in the verse here can mean “remembered,” and not as Rashi explained it as meaning “granting pregnancy.”

And the Lord took account of Sarah as He had said (amar), and the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken (dibber): There is a distinction between the expression, taking account, and the expression, doing (assiya). As taking account is only just remembering, whereas doing is an actual act, like it is written (Genesis 12:2), "And I will make you (e'esecha) into a great nation." And it (Bereishit Rabba 39:11) concludes [that it means that I will make you a new creature]. And also the expression, speaking (dibbur), indicates greater love than the expression, saying (amirah), since speaking indicates the explicit clarification of things by use of the tongue. And that relates to the expression, doing.