Coordination of intentions

Hello Rabbi,
I saw Rabbi HaLevi having difficulty with Rambam in the laws of prayer. How once (4:1) the Rambam wrote that intention delays the entire prayer and if one did not intend, one should repeat it, and another time (2-10) he wrote that intention delays only the first blessing and if one intended to do so, one should repeat it.
And there he wrote that there are two laws regarding intention in prayer:
A- The meaning of the interpretations of the words (=literal understanding) is that it is only delayed in the first blessing.
In the case of the intention of standing before God (perhaps a conscious understanding) that it hinders the entire prayer.
 
My question is, if it is truly said that prayer without understanding that I am currently standing before God is not prayer and that I do not fulfill my obligation, and I do not believe that in prayer I am standing before God but rather that I am obligated to pray by virtue of God's command, can I even perform the 18th?