Jesus was a popular guy.  It tends to happen when you can perform miracles and people start calling you the Messiah.  The demands on his time were great.

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.  – Lk 5:15

The demands on a church planter, while not quite to this level, can feel the same.  Overwhelming.  Demanding.  Draining.  Everyone wants a piece of you.  There is just too much to do and not enough time to do it.  Too many leaders to develop.  Too many sick to pray for.  Too many dysfunctional to reform.  It can feel like the crowds all around you.

Jesus took time outs.  Time away.  Time to connect with his Father.  He left the crowd behind.  Sometimes he had to sneak away to accomplish it.  He often went to the mountaintop. The very next verse in Luke 5 is:

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. — Luke 5:16

This wasn’t a one time thing.  It was a rhythm for Jesus.  Check out Mark 1:35; Mark 6:45-46; Mark 14:32-24; Luke 4:42; Luke 6:12.

The problem today is we are more connected than ever.  Going to the mountaintop isn’t enough, because the cell tower reaches there too.  So what is the modern day mountaintop?  Where do you go to be alone, to get away from the crowd and its demands and get alone with your Father?  Hint: It requires more than just turning the connected gadgets off.