Re: why are muslims os behind
Some people pray and get rewards from Allah for their namaz.
Others pray and just passed time. It's the way you pray that counts too.
I once read or maybe heard, can't remember exactly, there were 5 levels of your prayers. Often while praying all kinds of thoughts come into our minds. I keep repeating the translation of what I'm praying to help me focus and I pray aloud when I'm alone so I hear my voice so my thoughts won't go wondering off to things I'm supposed to do. And still I often find my thoughts have wondered off somewhere else! The highest level of doing your namaz is when your thoughts won't wonder off anymore. When you really truly feel each word you say in your heart. When you forget everything else around you.
If you read the many ahadith about namaz, and read the stories of pious people, the way they prayed, you will notice how they comletely got 'into' their prayers, forgetting everything around them.
I'm not sure who it was, but someone had to be operated on his leg or something, maybe it was something else, anyway, it was very painful, and he started to pray and while he was in sajda, they performed the operation or whatever on him. He didn't feel any pain at all!
Compare that to our prayers and see the difference. There are many more stories and ahadith about this topic. We just don't pray good enough. And what someone else already pointed out, prayers aren't just meant to fullfill your wishlist.