It is pale in comparison to seeing a need and taking direct action to fill that need in the lives of friends, family, and strangers. Praying to God to help feed the homeless people on the street is fine. Doing something to minister to a suffering human being is far superior. As you fill with the Love of God, as you attune yourself to the Divine will, you will become motivated to express this love through service. While prayer can shine a flashlight into a dark corner, service allows you to jump in and install lighting yourself.
Service can take many forms.
The exercise, the soul building activity is to increase your awareness of when and where you can be of service. When you see an opportunity, take action. Your action sends up another brick to help you build a magnificent soul. As I currently understand it, spiritual growth is not necessarily simple or easy to define. It involves becoming less and less an animal and more and more a well adjusted, truth seeking, service devoted, God conscious citizen of the Universe.