Re: Namaaz
S_E has answered your question well… there are just a few things I’d like to add from a personal prespective:
Namaz is our connection to Allah SWT. Yes, offering it because of fear of Allah SWT’s wrath is a reason to pray it, however, I feel that this is only half the reason. The other half is because we love & thanking Allah SWT for his many bounties upon us…
I mean how rude does it seem in this day and age if you did a favour for someone and they not only forget to say thanks, but are in complete denial about your favours upon them! For example, is it enough to pay lip service and proclaim to our parents once a day that we love them, but during the day, do everything that they tell us not to!?! Our feelings should reflect in our actions, which should coincide with our words.
Also, I feel namaz helps you put things in prespective… it helps you realise whats worth getting worked up for and whats not! It also helps you to refrain from sinning! I mean really, a guy/girl wouldn’t go clubbing and take breaks to pray (or would they 
)… praying, and doing sajda infront of our Lord (who we have to answer to aone day) 5 times a day will inshallah help you get away from such sins… its hard to manage a sinful life and 5 time namaaz ki paabandi at the same time.
I do know ppl who pray and do some stuff they really shouldn’t be doing! but then i (i may be wrong) think that to them, namaz is a ritual, its something that theyv’e been doing for so long, however, have failed to recognise its essence…
If a person asks Allah SWT 17 times a day: “Ihdinas siraatul mustaqeem”, and asks Allah SWT this with all honestly and khushoo, then the path to this right direction will inshallah become clear to them… for those who say it without knowing it… I pray that they make an effort to learn! But this is not to say that one stops praying until they know the meaning of most of the arabic they recite in the namaaz… God I hope I’m making sense!
I gotto get going now… just one last thing: a friend of mine at uni reverted to islam and she didn’t know how to pray initially (obviously)… but five times a day she would sit down and say The Lord’s Prayer (its out of the Bible i think)… Subhanallah she needed to make that connection and this is how she did it… she eventually learnt the salat properly 
I pray that things become easier for you, Amin.
Wassalam